Colombia’s Military Modernization Is the Biggest Arms Plan in Decades

Defense

Key Facts

—The plan. Colombia unveiled its biggest arms package in decades, worth more than $12 billion across every branch.

—Airpower. 80 new aircraft, headlined by 17 Saab Gripen E/F fighters to replace the 1980s-era Kfir jets.

—The rifle. A home-made Miranda rifle from state maker INDUMIL will replace over 400,000 aging Galil weapons.

—The cost. The Gripen contract alone runs to about $4.3 billion, with deliveries staggered to 2032.

—The driver. Decades of internal conflict make Colombia one of the region’s biggest defense spenders.

—The caveat. Only the Gripen deal is firm; much of the plan is intention to be structured before Petro’s term ends.

The eye-catching figure is the price. Colombia has put more than $12 billion on the table to rebuild a military long trained to look inward.

Colombia has laid out the largest military modernization plan in its recent history, a package that runs to more than 12 billion dollars and reaches into every branch of its armed forces. At its center sit 80 brand-new aircraft, including 17 Saab Gripen fighter jets bought under a contract worth about 4.3 billion dollars, alongside a home-built rifle meant to replace more than 400,000 aging weapons. President Gustavo Petro announced the plan on June 22 in Bogotá, and the scale of it, more than the individual items, is what marks a turn for a country long focused on internal conflict.

The announcement came at the Escuela Militar José María Córdova, the country’s main army officer academy, during a promotion ceremony. Petro framed the plan as a decades-overdue renewal, and defense officials have acknowledged an equipment gap they put at roughly 40 trillion pesos, or about 10 billion dollars, built up over years of underinvestment.

What’s in the plan

The buying list spans air, land and sea, and mixes foreign purchases with a heavy push to build at home. Colombian officials have cited the same core figures across several announcements, though it is worth being clear that much of this is a plan to be locked in before Petro’s term ends, not money already spent.

Aircraft: 80 new aircraft in total, headlined by 17 Saab Gripen E/F fighters (15 single-seat, 2 twin-seat) to replace the 1980s-era Kfir jets.

Helicopters: 46 heavy, medium and light helicopters to improve mobility across the country’s mountainous terrain.

Naval: a fleet renewal reported at up to 94 vessels, with locally built patrol and coastal ships part of the mix.

Armor: 127 tactical armored vehicles, which Petro insists should be manufactured in Colombia.

Small arms: 111,000 rifles, led by the domestically designed Miranda rifle replacing the veteran Galil.

Counter-drone: a “National Anti-Drone Shield” of around 17,000 communications and jamming units, budgeted near 1 trillion pesos.

The airpower centerpiece

The Gripen deal is the anchor. Colombia signed with Sweden’s Saab for 17 of the fighters — a tender being the formal, competitive process governments use to pick a supplier — after weighing US F-16s and French Rafales, according to Infobae and Cronista. The contract is valued at about 16.5 to 16.8 trillion pesos, roughly 4.3 billion dollars, with deliveries staggered between 2026 and 2032.

There is a neat regional hook here. The Gripen is the same fighter family Brazil flew at the multinational Salitre exercise in Chile earlier in 2026, which means two of South America’s larger air forces are converging on the same Swedish jet, a shift away from the American hardware that long dominated the region.

The domestic-production push

The second throughline is self-reliance. The clearest symbol is the Miranda rifle, a 5.56mm weapon developed by the state arms maker INDUMIL, with more than 85 percent of its parts made in Colombia and serial production slated to begin in 2026.

Replacing more than 400,000 Galil rifles is not a quick swap. It is a logistics feat that plays out over years, because every soldier’s weapon, spare part, magazine and training routine has to change in sequence, and INDUMIL projects output of tens of thousands of rifles a year rather than an overnight switch.

The same logic runs through the plan’s insistence on locally built ships and armored vehicles. Officials argue every dollar should return as jobs and technology transfer, framing defense spending as industrial policy as much as security policy, with universities and technical schools folded into the effort.

Why Colombia spends so much

Colombia devotes one of the largest shares of its economy to defense in Latin America, and the reason is its history. Decades of internal conflict with armed groups and drug-trafficking networks kept the armed forces oriented inward, and the current plan reflects a shift toward a more conventional posture built around defending territory and natural resources.

Recent violence has sharpened the urgency. A string of attacks on military bases, including drone strikes, pushed the government to fast-track anti-drone systems, and a series of aircraft accidents involving old airframes has been used to argue that flying obsolete planes endangers crews.

What’s funded versus what’s intended

This is the honest caveat every reader should hold onto. Petro has said the plan will be “structured before the end of the mandate,” and by the government’s own account only about 1 trillion pesos was assigned within the 2026 budget so far, with the Gripen contract the main firm commitment.

The political calendar adds risk. Colombia holds elections in 2026, and a plan that stretches spending across a change of government is only as durable as the budgets that follow it. The Gripen jets are contracted; a good deal of the rest is intention backed by ambition, and the next administration will decide how much becomes real.

Frequently asked questions

What is Colombia’s military modernization plan?

It is a package worth more than 12 billion dollars covering 80 new aircraft, 46 helicopters, up to 94 vessels, 127 armored vehicles and 111,000 rifles, announced by President Petro on June 22, 2026. Officials call it the largest such renewal in the country’s recent history.

How much do the Gripen fighter jets cost?

Colombia contracted 17 Saab Gripen E/F jets for about 16.5 to 16.8 trillion pesos, roughly 4.3 billion dollars, with deliveries running from 2026 to 2032. They replace the Kfir fighters Colombia has flown since the 1980s.

What is the Miranda rifle?

The Miranda is a 5.56mm rifle designed by Colombia’s state arms maker INDUMIL, with more than 85 percent local content. It is intended to replace over 400,000 Galil rifles, with serial production beginning in 2026, as part of a push toward domestic weapons production.

Why does Colombia spend so much on defense?

Colombia commits one of the largest shares of its economy to defense in the region because of decades of internal conflict with armed groups and drug traffickers. The new plan reflects a shift toward a more conventional military focused on territorial defense.

Is the whole plan funded?

No. The Gripen contract is a firm commitment, but much of the plan is intended to be “structured before the end of Petro’s mandate” rather than already funded, with only about 1 trillion pesos assigned in the 2026 budget so far. The 2026 elections add uncertainty to what will be executed.