STOCKHOLM — Sweden and Thailand finalized an agreement today in which Bangkok will buy four Gripen E/F fighter jets from Swedish defense firm Saab, with an order value of around 5.3 billion Swedish kroner ($550 million USD).
The contract, announced at Grand Hotel in the Swedish capital today, includes three Gripen E and one Gripen F aircraft, along with associated equipment, support, and training. Deliveries are scheduled between 2025 and 2030.
In addition, Saab has signed a separate agreement with the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) to deliver a “comprehensive offset package, featuring significant technology transfers, industrial cooperation, and new investments across multiple sectors of Thailand’s economy,” Saab states.
“Warmly, congratulations on acquiring this capability, and thank you for choosing also to deepen the cooperation between Sweden and Thailand. It means a lot to us,” Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson said at the signing ceremony in Stockholm.
During the Thai delegation’s visit to Sweden, agreements were signed by Thai Air Force Chief Punpakdee Pattanakul, FMV Director General Mikael Granholm, and Saab CEO Micael Johansson. Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson and Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa attended the signing ceremony.
RTAF currently operates a squadron of Gripen C/D multi-role fighters. The Swedish parliament, Riksdagen, has given the government authority to enter into an agreement with Thailand on up to 12 new Gripens and additional air defense systems.
The Gripens will be acquired under the Peace Burapha program, with the Swedish jets set to replace American-made F-16A/B Block 15 ADFs of 102 Squadron based at Korat (Nakhon Ratchasima), according to the RTAF. These are ex-US Air Force and Air National Guard aircraft acquired by Thailand in the late 1990s, and are the oldest of some 50 F-16s flown by the RTAF. Thailand has plans to replace all of its F-16s, including 18 which have undergone a mid-life upgrade, by 2035.
The order had come under review following Thailand’s reported use of Gripen C/D jets for a strike mission in a July 2025 border conflict with Cambodia. This marked the first combat deployment of the Gripen since its initial first generation test flight in 1988, prompting a Swedish government examination of the incident due to Sweden’s strict arms export regulations which states that permits should “not be granted to states engaged in armed conflict with another state.”
However, Sweden’s recent NATO membership has prompted a review of existing regulations, which were shaped by the country’s 200-year history of official non-alignment with military alliances.
Thailand also operates Saab’s Erieye airborne surveillance systems and the Swedish defense company has been active in Thailand since the mid-1980s. “Thailand is already a well-established Gripen user and familiar with the strengths that Gripen brings to the Royal Thai Armed Forces,” Johansson said in a statement today.
Alongside Thailand’s order of four Gripen fighter jets, the air forces of Sweden, South Africa, Brazil, Hungary, and the Czech Republic operate the Gripen. Additionally, Colombia, Peru and Canada are evaluating the advanced E/F model for potential acquisition, signaling growing international interest in Saab’s multi-role fighter.
Mike Yeo contributed reporting from Melbourne.
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Author: Lee Ferran
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