Peru announces purchase of 24 combat aircraft after almost 30 years without acquiring military aircraft

Peru announced on Wednesday that, after almost three decades without acquiring military aircraft, it will buy 24 combat aircraft, whose approximate investment will be 3.5 billion dollars. The acquisition will be “to guarantee the defense of the country,” according to the Minister of Defense.

In a press conference, after the weekly meeting of the secretaries of state, Minister Walter Astudillo told the local press that the purchase will be carried out through “internal debt” of 2,000 million dollars in 2025 and 1,500 million dollars in 2026. .

“The government has prioritized the purchase of fighter aircraft to guarantee the defense of the country,” Astudillo added without giving more details.

The information director of the Peruvian Air Force, Colonel Manfred Rondón, told the AP that the decision has not yet been made on the type of aircraft that will be acquired, but he highlighted that the options include the Swedish company Saab, which manufactures the Gripen model, the American Lockheed Martin that produces the F-16 and the French Dassault Aviation with its Rafale model.

The date on which the planes will arrive is also unknown.

“Buying aircraft is not like going to the store and buying something, they are not delivered immediately, you have to… wait in line for other countries that have previously placed the order to be served,” Rondón commented.

Previous purchases of fighter jets by the Peruvian government in the 1980s and 1990s were tainted by corruption scandals that led to sanctions for high-ranking officials and military personnel.

Peru received 12 Mirage aircraft from the Dassault Aviation company in 1986 during the government of President Alan García, who was later prosecuted for illicit enrichment for his alleged intermediation in the purchase. His crimes expired in 2001, according to the Supreme Court.

Then between 1996 and 1998, during the government of Alberto Fujimori, Peru purchased 18 MiG-29 aircraft and 18 Sukhoi Su-25 aircraft, which gave rise to several corruption sentences against Fujimori’s former advisor, Vladimiro Montesinos, as well as against a former head of the Peruvian Air Force and seven officials. The court determined that 294 million dollars was paid above the real price of the ships, which were second-hand.

Peru’s last armed conflict occurred with Ecuador in 1995 and lasted almost two months in an Amazonian border area. Peace was achieved with an agreement signed in 1998 in Brasilia between the then leaders Jamil Mahuad, of Ecuador, and Alberto Fujimori, of Peru.

Lima granted Quito one square kilometer of territory in the area where the conflict took place.

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