The US government is investigating a deal 2014 between the Brazilian government and the Swedish fighter aircraft manufacturer Saab to equip the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) with new fighter aircraft.

Ten years after the deal was signed, Saab said its U.S. subsidiary is being subpoenaed by the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ), which Saab said “has requested information about the Brazilian government’s acquisition of 36 Gripen E/F fighter jets.”

“Saab intends to comply with the request for information and cooperate with the Department of Justice on this matter,” the company said on October 10.

The Swedish manufacturer declined to provide further details on the matter, citing “confidentiality obligations.”

The U.S. Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter.

Courts in Sweden and Brazil have previously investigated the fighter jet procurement contract amid allegations of corruption. Brazilian prosecutors in 2016 accused former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of using his influence in the government in Brasilia to help Saab win the tender for 36 fighter jets.

Dilma Rousseff, Lula’s energy minister, succeeded her as president in 2011 and was head of government when the Gripen contract was awarded. Rousseff was later indicted on corruption charges and removed from office in 2016.

Lula’s lawyers described the investigation as politically motivated. He has since returned to the presidency and won re-election to the top office in 2023.

Saab notes that its role in the Gripen deal has been clarified with judicial authorities in Sweden and Brazil.

“These investigations were discontinued without there being any evidence of wrongdoing by Saab,” the company says.

That conclusion was apparently not satisfactory to authorities in Washington, who are likely investigating Brasilia’s decision on behalf of U.S. plane maker Boeing.

Brazil’s fighter jet procurement program, known as FX-2, took place between 2008 and 2014. Pitting Saab’s latest Gripen E/F against the Boeing F/A-18/E/F Super Hornet and the Dassault Rafale F3 as a replacement for FAB’s Dassault Mirage 2000C.

Although the French aircraft manufacturer once appeared In order to stay ahead, Saab ultimately prevailed. At the time of its award in 2014, the contract for 36 jets was worth $4.5 billion.

According to Brazil’s then Defense Minister Celso Amorim and FAB chief General Juniti Saito, the decision was due to aircraft performance, technology transfer and low life cycle costs.

Saab then worked with Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer to assemble the latest version of the Gripen single-engine fighter aircraft in Gaviao Peixoto in Sao Paulo state – the first time a Swedish aircraft was manufactured outside the Saab factory in Linköping.

The FAB’s first Gripen E – locally designated F-39E – was assembled at this location in Sweden. take a flight for the first time in 2019. The F-39E entered Frontline service with Brazil in 2022.

Embraer and Saab open the Gaviao Peixoto production line in 2023, configured for an annual production rate of eight aircraft. Of Brazil’s initial order of 36 Gripens, 15 are expected to be assembled domestically by Embraer.

In 2021, Brasilia agreed to do so probably expand The program is expected to include up to 70 jets. Although no agreement has yet been reached on the additional fighter jets, a Saab executive told FlightGlobal in February that the company had agreed to do so remains optimistic about the view.

“Their needs are well over 36,” said Mikael Franzen, Saab’s chief marketing officer for the Gripen program, at the 2024 Singapore air show.

Currently, Sweden and Brazil are the only two operators of the Gripen E, although Saab says it is in discussions with potential customers in Europe, South America and Asia, including operators of older Gripen models.

In the summer the Royal Thai Air Force announced his preference for the Swedish fighter versus the American Lockheed Martin F-16V fighter for a 12-aircraft fleet modernization tender.

However, the Thai government has not yet given final approval to this decision, leaving the possibility that Lockheed will still go ahead with a new one revised offer.