In order to reduce the pressure on the public budget, and in line with the request of the government of Sweden to Parliament to authorize the probable sale of 12 fighters Gripen e To Peru, the general commander of the Peru Air force (FAP), general Carlos Chávez Caterianohas confirmed that the purchase of 24 fighters will be divided into two lots of 12 units each: the first 12 will be purchased this year and the second dozen in 2026.
For fiscal year 2025, a 2000 million dollar item has already been approved, which includes provisions for the aquisition of 12 fighters, logistics support and the first package of weapons, while in the 2026 public budget the other 1500 million dollars will be incorporated, which only contemplates the purchase of the second dozen fighters, to the same manufacturer. From 2027, the Air Force will require a budget extension to keep the operational and updated aircraft, and the duly trained pilots.
Also, General Caterian confirmed in an interview with the online channel Defensa.pethat the 24 fighters will be bought from the same manufacturer, because it makes no sense – and it is more expensive – enable two different logistics lines for 12 fighters. Cateriano also confirmed that the following Peruvian fighter is not yet selected from the three options that make up the short list: Rafale (Dassault AviationFrance), F-16C / 500 Bloque 70 (Lockheed Martin AeronauticsUnited States of America) and Gripen e (SaabSweden, the biplaza variant, Gripen Fhe still does not make his first flight).
In that sense, the request made on the authorization of sale of 12 fighters to Peru by the government of Sweden to its Parliament, is at least for the moment a bureaucratic, political procedure, typical of the state system of that European country and does not imply that the FAP has made any decision. The option evaluation process and the selection – which began in 2012 and is in its final stage – not yet above the official selection point of the winning hunting and the preferential contractor.
When referring to KF-21 Falcon (Boramae)Cateriano indicated that so far no country has it in active duty. Even the manufacturer Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) The serial production phase of its excellent hunt does not begin, and has not been formally sold to any foreign customer. The general also reiterated that the FAP is looking for a weapons system proven in the market, mature and with combat experience. The FAP has sent a letter to Kai in which he thanked for his interest and indicates the requirements raised by the Peruvian Armed Institute.
“There is no winner yet, in fact we are in the final phases of the study, in the latest updates of the technical study, and this requires several levels of approval,” said the General Commander of the Peruvian Air Force. “When the study is finally finished, it has to be evaluated by the Ministry of Defenseyou have to go through the hands of the Ministry of Economy and Financeand finally submit to the maximum body that would be in this case the supreme chief of the Armed Forces, which is the president. That is still going to take a few weeks, “he said.
Cateriano indicated that the Comptroller General of the Republic It is monitoring the entire process, all previous, concurrent and subsequent activities to eliminate any type of debt on the transparency of the selection process.
-In addition, he revealed that bidders are being asked that by July 23, 2026, the date on which the anniversary of the Air Force is commemorated, they can have two copies of the selected fighters for exhibition purposes in the Las Palmas Air Base (Lima), or failing, temporarily incorporated via leasing or through a deployment of the air force of the winning country to presence on the date.
Space Puerto
When referring to the project of Space Puerto, Cateriano stressed that the first option for its location was the city of Talara, due to its proximity to Ecuador; However, a joint inspection between the Peruvian Air Force and the United States Space Force He has found that urban growth in Talara has surrounded the El Pato Area Baseso it is being evaluated as an alternative to the city of Chiclayo, but Talara has not been ruled out. An additional alternative would be lands of the State, inland, not far from the cities of Talara or Chiclayo.
Purchase of transport aircraft
On the purchase of the third pair of transport aircraft C-27J SpartanGeneral Caterian recalled that the original project contemplates the purchase of 12 units, but the budget for its acquisition is not yet enabled.
On the other hand, on April 28 the tender will be convened for the purchase of two transport aircraft Boeing 737ngprobably two Boeing 737-800. The procedure will be in charge of the ICAO Technical Cooperation Office (International Civil Aviation Organization) to ensure transparency, seriousness and the best purchase options for the FAP, including two technical visits to inspect the aircraft, one of ICAO and the second with FAP specialists.
Cateriano said that the purchase was moving wind in stern with the intermediation of the Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC), But it was the Canadian state entity itself that withdrew its sales offer, without the public budget of Peru has been affected. These two aircraft are expected to arrive at Peru before the month of July of this year.
