Colombia signs an important military contract with Israel, adding new aircraft to its Air Force inventory IAI KFIR fighter jets The contract includes a large project planned to be completed by 2026 and is worth a total of $7,2 million. These maintenance and repair processes required by the Colombian Air Force, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) will be carried out by.
Contract Details and Objectives
This new contract will add significant capacity to the Colombian Air Force. Under the contract, KFIR aircraft will airframe, armament, engines, avionics, electronics and other important systems maintenance and repair will be carried out. IAI, which will carry out the modernization operations, will take the aircraft to a more advanced level in order to increase Colombia's defense power.
Colombian Air Force, Combat Air Command No. 1 will carry out this process with a total of 44 expert technicians from the unit. This team will work to ensure the operational efficiency of the aircraft and the correct functioning of the maintenance processes.
Colombia currently has 11 units in its inventory IAI KFIR fighter jet There are 9 of them in flight condition and 2 of them are under maintenance. There are also 27 General Electric J-79J1EQD engine 11 of them are currently installed on aircraft and 16 are under maintenance. These aircraft and engines hold an important place as strategic elements representing Colombia's air power and the aim is to increase the operational availability of these elements with modernization.
Political Tensions and Military Sale Suspension
Colombia's signing of this agreement with Israel comes after diplomatic tensions in October 2023. Colombian President Gustavo PetroHe made a harsh criticism of Israel's attacks on Gaza and likened these attacks to Nazi massacres in his statements. This post, Israel suspends military sales to Colombia The Israeli Foreign Ministry responded to Petro's statements antisemitic He recalled the Colombian Ambassador to Israel, describing the situation as "a serious problem". This tension marked a significant turning point in relations between the two countries.
Despite this, military cooperation between Colombia and Israel continues with this new agreement. Maintenance and modernization of KFIR aircraft, continues to be an important part of the defense relationship between the two countries. This process is a major step in ensuring that Colombia’s air force can operate robustly and enhance its national security.
The agreement signed between Colombia and Israel reflects not only military cooperation but also the development of strategic relations between the two countries. Colombia’s goal of modernizing its air force is a major step in the country’s efforts to increase its defense capacity. The agreement demonstrates the strong military ties between the two countries that continue despite past diplomatic tensions.
