In line with what has been seen across the region, with several South American countries renewing their combat fleets, Peru would finally be moving forward with the selection of a future multirole fighter to equip its Air Force. According to local Peruvian media, the choice of the new combat aircraft would fall on the F-16 Block 70 proposed by Lockheed Martin and the U.S. government, thus prevailing over Sweden’s Gripen E and France’s Rafale.
Although a decision had been expected by mid-last year, when the Peruvian Air Force and the government were to confirm the winning proposal of their multirole fighter acquisition program, this did not occur. This is no minor issue, as the service urgently requires the incorporation of a new combat aircraft to replace the Mikoyan MiG-29s, which are virtually non-operational, and the Mirage 2000P fleet, which is going through its final year of service with steadily declining availability.
To this end, the Air Force and the Peruvian Ministry of Defense advanced the analysis of several proposals to achieve this objective, with the so-called shortlist comprising the F-16 Block 70, Gripen E, and Rafale fighters, proposed by Lockheed Martin, Saab, and Dassault Aviation, respectively.
Each of the aforementioned proposals has been backed by the respective governments of each country in order to formalize a contract potentially valued in the billions of dollars.
Against this backdrop, and based on local media citing ministerial sources, the Peruvian government, with the advice of the Peruvian Air Force (FAP), would have defined the selection of the U.S. proposal centered on the F-16 Block 70, which recently received authorization from the State Department last September.
According to a release by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), the proposal, valued at US$3.42 billion, includes the sale of a total of twelve (12) F-16 Block 70 fighters, of which ten (10) will be single-seat F-16C aircraft and two (2) twin-seat F-16D versions.
In turn, the package not only covers the combat aircraft, services, and associated logistical support, but also includes the supply of weaponry, among which stand out the AIM-120C-8 long-range air-to-air missiles — the most advanced version available for export customers — complemented by twelve (12) AIM-9X Block II Sidewinder short-range air-to-air missiles, along with M61A1 cannons and LAU-129 guided rocket launchers.
Finally, it should be noted that neither the government nor the Peruvian Air Force has issued official statements on the matter, suggesting that an official decision is expected in the coming months to put an end to the uncertainty and formalize the acquisition of the new F-16 Block 70s. This would make the South American country the operator of the most advanced Viper fleet in the region, whose historic operators include Chile and Venezuela, and more recently Argentina.
Photographs used for illustrative purposes.
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