STOCKHOLM — Brazilian Defense Minister José Múcio Monteiro Filho announced today that he wants to buy an additional 20 Gripen E jets, which would bring Brazil’s fleet to 56 fighters.
The announcement came during a press conference today, wrapping up the minister’s four-day visit to Sweden. During a joint presser, Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson confirmed that negotiations are advancing on a deal to amend the existing Gripen agreement to add in additional jets, although both men stressed no deal has been reached.
Gen. Marcelo Kanitz Damasceno, the Brazilian air chief, told Breaking Defense on the sideline of the event that the need for extra jets was born from a serious look at Brazil’s air power.
“Our staff studies signalized for us a [requirement] of between 50 and 60 fighter aircrafts, something like that, to maintain the sovereignty of our country. So we started from 36 [Gripen] to 56 [Gripen] or a little bit more than than 60 … It’s a number that you can do well with,” Damasceno said.
After Saab beat out the Boeing F/A-18 and Dassault Rafale in 2014, Brazil ordered a total of 36 Gripen fighters: 28 single-seat Gripen E models and eight two-seat Gripen F variants. Eleven aircraft have been delivered to date.
