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Thread dedicated to Military Forces of Colombia, Fuerzas Militares de Colombia.
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Colombian Minister of Defense Iván Velásquez informed during an interview to Radio Caracol’s 6AM that it was not possible to reach an agreement with Dassault or Saab for the purchase of the fighters that should begin to replace the IAI Kfir of the Colombian Air Force (FAC) starting this year.
Two weeks ago, Velásquez gave an interview to the same show in which he assured that the Government was inclined to choose the French fighter as a replacement for the Kfir, over the proposals of the American F-16 Block 70/72 and the Swedish Gripen E.
To pay for the first part of the acquisition, the Colombian Ministry of Defense had an available budget of USD 678 million agreed during the previous administration through a CONPES (National Council for Economic and Social Policy) document. In total, Colombia intended to purchase 16 Dassault Rafale fighters, over a period of 10 years, whose approximate cost would have been about USD 3.15 billion.
However, the CONPES had an expiration date of December 31, 2022, and as the negotiations with the two preferred bidders could not be closed in time, the FAC’s Kfir replacement program was left without initial funding.
Negotiations will continue this year, either with Dassault and the French government, or with Saab and Sweden, but the first obstacle that the Colombian Ministry of Defense will have to overcome is to discuss and obtain a new CONPES document that guarantees the necessary funds to undertake the purchase.
This is not an easy task, since Minister Velásquez had previously assured that the purchase would not have an impact on the State’s immediate resources, since the CONPES budget had been previously allocated, and a five-year grace period was being negotiated with the bidders to resume payments.
Meanwhile, the selection of a replacement for the FAC’s aging IAI Kfir fleet continues to be delayed, and the aircraft will have to remain in service in some form, even though the worst condition examples were due to be decommissioned later this year.
www.aviacionline.com
Two weeks ago, Velásquez gave an interview to the same show in which he assured that the Government was inclined to choose the French fighter as a replacement for the Kfir, over the proposals of the American F-16 Block 70/72 and the Swedish Gripen E.
To pay for the first part of the acquisition, the Colombian Ministry of Defense had an available budget of USD 678 million agreed during the previous administration through a CONPES (National Council for Economic and Social Policy) document. In total, Colombia intended to purchase 16 Dassault Rafale fighters, over a period of 10 years, whose approximate cost would have been about USD 3.15 billion.
However, the CONPES had an expiration date of December 31, 2022, and as the negotiations with the two preferred bidders could not be closed in time, the FAC’s Kfir replacement program was left without initial funding.
Negotiations will continue this year, either with Dassault and the French government, or with Saab and Sweden, but the first obstacle that the Colombian Ministry of Defense will have to overcome is to discuss and obtain a new CONPES document that guarantees the necessary funds to undertake the purchase.
This is not an easy task, since Minister Velásquez had previously assured that the purchase would not have an impact on the State’s immediate resources, since the CONPES budget had been previously allocated, and a five-year grace period was being negotiated with the bidders to resume payments.
Meanwhile, the selection of a replacement for the FAC’s aging IAI Kfir fleet continues to be delayed, and the aircraft will have to remain in service in some form, even though the worst condition examples were due to be decommissioned later this year.
No Rafale, No Gripen: Colombian Air Force fails to close new fighter deal and Kfir fleet won’t have a replacement
Colombian Minister of Defense Iván Velásquez informed during an interview to Radio Caracol’s 6AM that it was not possible to reach an agreement with Dassault or Saab for the purchase of the fighters that should begin to replace the IAI Kfir of the Colombian Air Force (FAC) starting this year. Two we
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They travel to Ukraine for the money – and return home with knowledge that the drug cartels will pay for
Combat-experienced Colombian veterans are going to war in Ukraine for the money. But when they return home, their new knowledge about drones and modern warfare can become a valuable resource for the country's criminal organizations, according to an expert.(Photo: © Yuriy Dyachyshyn, AFP/Ritzau Scanpix)
By
Jonathan Strid Lundsgaard
16. Aug at 17:30
De rejser til Ukraine for pengene – og vender hjem med viden, som narkokartellerne vil betale for
Kamperfarne colombianske veteraner drager i krig i Ukraine for pengene. Men når de vender hjem, kan deres nye viden om droner og moderne krigsførelse blive en værdifuld ressource for landets kriminelle organisationer, vurderer ekspert.
The characteristic buzzing sound of drones often heralds an attack in Ukraine.
In the mountains of Colombia, the same sound has begun to appear. Two wars, two continents, different enemies - but increasingly the same weapons, tactics and in some cases the same men who have learned it in one place and now use it in the other.
Drones have changed the war in Ukraine. Now it seems that the experience with them is on its way to Colombia, where criminal organizations have been fighting the state for decades – and are looking for new ways to wage war.
But we start in a slightly different place.
Colombia's military is considered to be among the most powerful in Latin America. Decades of active fighting against criminal drug organizations and insurgent movements such as the FARC and ELN have created generations of soldiers with extensive combat experience.
© Reuters/Ritzau Scanpix
Colombian volunteers at the front in Ukraine
There are no official figures on how many Colombians exactly have gone to war for Ukraine, but a recently released figure from the Ukrainian Military Ombudsman shows that about 16,000 foreign volunteers from at least 72 countries in the world are currently serving in the Ukrainian military - almost 40 percent of them, the military ombudsman estimates, to be Latin American citizens.According to the US defense media The Defense Post's figures from the end of 2025, up to 2,000 Colombians have voluntarily chosen to sign contracts with the Ukrainian defense since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. However, it is not clear why there is such a big difference between the two media's statements.
How many Colombians have actually died in the war, no one knows for sure. Colombia's foreign ministry has officially acknowledged that at least 300 Colombians have died, while the families of the dead soldiers believe that the real number is much higher.
The reason is that an unknown number of casualties have never been retrieved from Russian-controlled territory — without an identified body, a soldier is registered by the Ukrainian authorities as missing, not dead, even if photos, video or witness statements about the death are available.
Up to 250 Colombian families, organized in the group "Voices of those who are no longer here", are today fighting to bring their relatives home and to receive the compensation that the Ukrainian state has promised foreign volunteers.
According to the Ukrainian Foreign Legion, families of fallen soldiers are entitled to compensation equivalent to approximately 2.4 million Danish kroner.
According to Erin McFee, anthropologist, founder and CEO of the think tank Corioli Institute, an organization that works with the reintegration of former soldiers, rebels and gang members from conflict-affected areas, this is partly because Colombian veterans have very few opportunities at home.
"The private security industry in the country is completely saturated after 50 years, where thousands of veterans have poured out of the armed forces. At the same time, military pay is already so low that soldiers rarely have time to build up savings before they leave the service, she says.
But the economic conditions are the reason why Colombians travel in the first place. They do not explain why the war in Ukraine has become a concern for Colombia's own security.
The Ukrainians have something that the Colombians themselves do not have: combat experience with drones. Cheap, lethal drones have long been one of the most widely used weapons in the war in Ukraine — and according to the Financial Times, that expertise is attractive to take home, not least for the criminal groups and guerrilla movements that are already fighting against the Colombian state.
According to Erin McFee, it doesn't take many returnees for it to really make a decisive difference.
"What I suspect is that it's far fewer than the media reports — but it doesn't really make any difference how many there are, because you only need a handful of people with experience to completely change the technological and warlike landscape for the drug cartels," she says.
According to Erin McFee, returning veterans from Ukraine can be offered up to $2,500 by criminal organizations for a single day's training as a drone operator — an amount she emphasizes she cannot verify herself. But as she points out, it really only takes one teacher.
- You only need one to train other teachers, and then it can grow exponentially from there.
Guerrero, second from left, from Colombia, a soldier in the 102nd Infantry Division. Samar Wolves battalion of Ukraine's 108th Territorial Defense Brigade, practicing using a machine gun during firing and tactical exercises, Ukraine, November 10, 2025. (Photo: © Ukrinform, Shutterstock/Ritzau Scanpix)
Drone war at home
There are indications that the combat drone experience is already being shared among Colombia's criminal organizations and armed rebel groups.Based on an analysis by ACLED (Armed Conflict Location and Event Data), conducted by the British media The Guardian, only one drone attack was recorded in Colombia in 2023. By 2024, the number had risen to 38, and by 2025 it had reached 149.
Colombia's own defense ministry calculates an even steeper increase: zero attacks in 2023, 61 in 2024 and 333 in 2025. Figures that the now former defense minister, Pedro Sanchez, has also mentioned in connection with a bill that would limit the use of drones.
The difference is probably due to the fact that the two sources measure differently — but point in the same direction: A significant and sustained increase in drone attacks year by year.
The attacks include police stations, military bases and checkpoints, but civilian targets such as energy grids, transformer stations, airports and public buildings are also examples of targets.
Colombian soldiers participate in the deployment of the first unmanned aerial battalion at the military base in Tolemaida, Colombia, on October 10, 2025. (Photo: © Raul Arboleda, AFP/Ritzau Scanpix)
The Colombian state is lagging behind
While the criminal groups have quickly embraced the drone war, the Colombian state is lagging behind. It was not until October last year that the Colombian army established its first-ever drone battalion.And that's probably a good idea. According to Erin McFee, the Colombian soldiers in the field are poorly equipped against the new threat.
"I have been told by Colombians that instead of just getting the shotguns you can shoot down drones with, they are just given more ordinary rifles," she says.
But this is not a rare sight in the fight against organized crime. All states that try to combat transnational organized crime typically develop more slowly than the criminal organizations themselves, says Erin McFee.
"That's why these organizations are able to survive — they adapt faster, they have far more money and financial muscle than the state, and much less paperwork."
With Colombia's newly inaugurated president, Abelardo de la Espriella, the course may change. He has campaigned on a hard line against the country's criminal organizations and has promised to crack down on the armed groups.
On Maidan Square in Kyiv, Colombian flags pay tribute to the many Colombian volunteers who have lost their lives in the war. (Photo: © Jeremy Bigwood, Shutterstock/Ritzau Scanpix)
Belief in a better life
Although both the language and the cultural differences between the two nations are noticeable, several Colombian veterans still choose to volunteer for the war in Ukraine.Despite attractive offers from Colombia's criminal organizations and armed rebel groups, the main driving force behind the Colombian veterans' trip to Ukraine is probably the prospect of a significantly higher salary.
Erin McFee, through her work, has interviewed several Colombian veterans of the war in Ukraine both in Kyiv and Bogotá. And according to her, the better salaries in the Ukrainian army are the primary motivating factor, she says.
The requirements for when you can retire with full service from Columbia's military depend on your military rank and how long one has served. However, professional soldiers of the lowest rank must have served at least 20 years before they are entitled to a pension equivalent to 2800 Danish kroner monthly.
- The course after military service in Colombia is not very well set up. There aren't many options for veterans when they leave the military — and there are even fewer for those who quit before the age of 20 or 25 when you can get an actual military pension.
Therefore, the salary for active combat service in Ukraine is as high as about 27,000 kroner per month a lucrative salary compared to the approximately 4,000 kroner that makes up the monthly salary that the Colombian military offers its professional soldiers, says Erin McFee.
- The pay gap — or at least the salary they are promised — is enormous. So the prospect of that is very hard to say no to.
The financial gain thus becomes a crucial factor for the Colombian veterans, who see the war in Ukraine as an opportunity to significantly improve their financial situation.
