Saab JAS 39 Gripen potential operators and failed bids is the proposed or rejected selection and purchase of the Saab JAS 39 Gripen.

Potential operators

In 2014, Saab opened an office in Botswana. The country is interested in buying eight surplus Gripen C/Ds, with possible extension to 16, to replace the Botswana Defence Force Air Wing's (BDF) 14 ex-Royal Canadian Air Force CF-5 fighters used since 1996. BDF officials reportedly believed the Gripen acquisition was a done deal when interviewed in 2016.

Canada is a level 3 industrial partner in the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II development program. However an open fighter competition was launched in December 2017 to identify a replacement for its CF-18 fighter. The Royal Canadian Air Force announced in February 2018 that Saab was a contestant along with the F-35. The competition was very dependent on industrial benefits for Canadian companies; in May 2019, Saab offered to build Gripens in Canada akin to the Brazilian arrangement.

In June 2019, Saab stated it was ready to offer 88 Gripen Es to Canada, in addition to full transfer of technology, Saab stated that they could offer the integration of American and other non-Saab equipment so that the aircraft is interoperable with the US military. Saab also stated the Gripen E was built for arctic conditions. In January 2021, Saab offered to build two aerospace centers in Canada as part of the technology transfer proposal. On 1 December 2021, the Canadian government confirmed that the Super Hornet did not meet its requirements and reduced the competitors to the F-35 and the Gripen.

In late March 2022, the Canadian government announced its intention to negotiate a contract to purchase the F-35. By early December 2022, defence sources revealed an initial funding request for 16 F-35s had been approved by the Treasury Board of Canada, though Saab claimed their offer remained eligible for selection.

By 2023 Canada's Future Fighter Capability Project evaluated both the F-35 and Gripen as meeting the mandatory requirements of the Royal Canadian Air Force, however the F-35 reportedly significantly outperformed the Gripen in every category. This led the Trudeau Government to ultimately select the F-35 in 2023, despite campaigning in 2015 on a promise to not purchase the F-35. On 9 January 2023, the government announced the signing of a final contract to procure 88 F-35s, seeming to end the Gripen's chance for selection.

However, in 2025 following repeated threats by President Donald Trump to turn Canada into the "51st State" and the onset of the US-initiated trade war, the new Canadian government under Prime Minister Mark Carney opted to re-evaluate and review the F-35 purchase. By January 2026, Saab tied its offer of 12,000 new jobs in Canada to the purchase of 72 Gripen jets and 6 of its GlobalEye systems. In the wake of the Trump's threats to annex Greenland by force and consistent rhetoric about making Canada the 51st State, government sources in Ottawa indicated that the government was now strongly considering the Gripen for at least half of its fleet due to the potential job creation, and as part of Canada's broader efforts to diversify its trade and reduce defense dependency with the United States.

Colombia's new fighter will be the Saab Gripen E/F, the country's president has confirmed in April 2025. The acquisition of the Swedish-made combat aircraft will finally allow for the retirement of the veteran IAI Kfir with the Colombian Air Force.

The sale of 17 aircraft for SEK 34 billion was agreed in November 2025. Delivery will take place between 2026 and 2032.

In September 2016, Saab announced its intention to open an office in Manila to support its campaign to sell the Gripen to fill the Philippine Air Force's requirement for 12 multirole fighters; Saab also intends to offer ground infrastructure, integrated C2 systems and datalinks, similar to the capabilities of the Royal Thai Air Force. In 2018, Saab renewed its sales push. The Department of National Defense is reportedly more likely to buy six Gripen C/D MS20 over the US offer of F-16V Block 70/72. According to Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, Swedish ISP Exportkontrollrådet (Export Control Council) ruled in November 2022 to approve export to the Philippines. They also raise the option of providing leased JAS 39 Gripens as a counter-offer to the F-16V offer of the United States. In June 2023, the Philippines and Sweden signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) during the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, paving the way for a potential agreement that would see Sweden supplying 12 Gripen C/D MS20 multirole fighter aircraft to the Philippine Air Force (PAF). The MOU on defence materiel cooperation was signed by Acting Defence Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. and Swedish Defence Minister Pål Jonson.

Since 2014, Ukraine considered locally producing the JAS 39 Gripen under license, but such plans were abandoned and the country focused on overhauling and upgrading its fleet of Soviet-era combat aircraft instead.

In 2020, the Kyiv Post reported that Ukraine had plans on fully replacing its fleet of MiG-29s, Su-27s, Su-25s, and Su-24Ms with 72−108 Western 4.5 generation multirole combat aircraft such as the Gripen E/F or F-16 Block 70/72 by 2035.

In July 2022, the Minister of Defence Oleksii Reznikov announced the JAS 39 Gripen as a candidate aircraft for the Ukrainian Air Force. In August 2023 after visiting Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that "Ukrainian pilots had already begun training on the planes." In early December 2023, it was reported that there were fruitful bilateral discussions about the possible transfer of Gripen aircraft to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

On 9 September 2024, Sweden announced its 17th aid package for Ukraine of 4.6 billion Swedish crowns or US$443 million. Funds were included to "facilitate a transfer of Gripen fighter jets in the future".

On 6 February 2025, Commander-in-Chief of the AFU General Oleksandr Syrskyi confirmed that negotiations on the transfer of Gripens C/D to Ukraine are still ongoing. On 29 September 2025, it was claimed that Gripens would be delivered to the Ukrainian Air Force, although this was denied by Sweden, with Swedish PM Ulf Kristersson stating only that he had "discussed" the acquisition of Gripens with Ukraine's President Zelenskyy.

On 22 October 2025, Ukraine signed a declaration of intent to buy up to 150 Gripens, which was announced at a press conference held by Zelenskyy and Kristersson.

Others Other countries that previously expressed interest in Gripen but have not yet pursued a contract include:

Ecuador (C/D, or E/F from Brazil) Estonia Kenya (C/D) Latvia Lithuania Malaysia (C/D) Mexico (C/D, or E/F from Brazil) Namibia (C/D) Peru (C/D, or E/F from Brazil) Portugal (C/D) Serbia Slovenia Vietnam

Saab's head of exports Eddy de La Motte has stated in 2013 that Gripen's chances have improved as nations waver in their commitments to the F-35. In September 2013, Saab's CEO Håkan Buskhe said he envisioned Gripen sales to reach 400 or 450 aircraft.

Failed bids Argentina Used F-16s from Denmark were selected instead.

Austria Starting in the 1990s, the Gripen was one candidate to replace the Austrian Air Force's aging Saab 35 Drakens; the Eurofighter Typhoon was selected in 2003. During the mid-2010s, Austria started considering replacing its Typhoons with Gripens due to obsolescence and cost, as they are all Tranche 1 and need upgrades to be retained.

In 2023, Austria decided to upgrade its Typhoons and is considering enlarging its fleet.

Bulgaria

In response to the Bulgarian Air Force's interest in the Gripen, the Gerdzhikov caretaker cabinet announced in April 2017 the fighter's section by a state commission and plans for an initial batch of eight Gripens at up to 1.5 billion BGN (ca. 745 million euro), to be delivered around 2018–2020, along with a second batch of eight later. Competing bids included used USAF F-16A/Bs to be modernised to MLU standard by the Portuguese OGMA (similar to Bulgaria's neighbour Romania) and used Italian Tranche 1 Eurofighter Typhoons, with the US/Portuguese offer finishing second and the Italian offer third. According to the deputy prime minister and minister of defence Stefan Yanev, the Gripen's selection was primarily due to Saab's offer of favourable financial terms, such as a lease option and offset agreements, accounting for about one billion BGN for the aircraft alone ($834 million), while the US/Portuguese bid accounted a price of about one and a half billion BGN for the aircraft alone. The second-place offer was retained as a back-up option if negotiations with Saab failed; program finances were budgeted through to 2017. It would replace both the MiG-29 fighters of Graf Ignatievo Air Base and the Su-25 attack aircraft of Bezmer Air Base, as well as the already retired Su-22 reconnaissance aircraft.

In October 2018, potential suppliers responded to a renewed tender, consisting of new F-16V Vipers from Lockheed Martin, new Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, used Eurofighter Typhoons from Italy and used Gripen C/Ds from Sweden. France, Germany, Israel and Portugal did not respond to requests for used Eurofighter Typhoons and F-16 variants. In December 2018, Saab submitted an improved offer to supply 10 new Gripen C/Ds instead of the previously proposed 8. However, in December 2018, the Bulgarian Ministry of Defence selected the F-16V offer as the preferred option, and recommended talks with the US. On 3 June 2019, the US State Department approved the possible sale of 8 F-16Vs to Bulgaria at an estimate cost of $1.67 billion. On 10 July 2019, Bulgaria approved the acquisition of eight F-16V Block 70/72s for US$1.25bn. The deal was vetoed by the Bulgarian President, Rumen Radev on 23 July 2019, citing the need for a broader consensus, returning it to parliament. On 26 July 2019, parliament again approved the deal, overruling the veto, and was approved by Radev. In April 2020, Lockheed Martin was contracted by the US government to produce Bulgaria's F-16Vs, completion is expected in 2027.

In September 2022, there were reports that Bulgaria had been given an offer from the Swedish government of procuring 10 Gripen C/Ds from Sweden for delivery within two years. The "24chasa" newspaper referenced a letter from Bulgarian Acting Minister of Defense Dimitar Stojanov to his Swedish counterpart Peter Hultqvist dated 30 September 2022. Dimitar Stojanov allegedly wrote in the letter that they would like to receive a more detailed offer, including an option of a leasing arrangement, and he invited Swedish representatives to visit Sofia to discuss further details. Peter Hultqvist's office confirmed to the Swedish news agency TT that it concerned a potential procurement inquiry. At the time Saab offered no comments on the issue. The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration, FMV, claimed that they were aware of reports about Bulgarian interest but they had not received any formal inquiry so they refrained from commenting.

Croatia