Ukraine sets sights on 150 Swedish fighter jets
In his statement after his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said that Sweden signed a letter of intent to supply up to 150 domestically produced Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine.
The two leaders met for talks in Linkoping in southern Sweden and visited Saab, the manufacturer of the JAS 39 Gripen fighter jet, GlobalEye surveillance aircraft, missile systems, anti-tank infantry weapons and other equipment.
Kristersson said at the press conference that the two countries signed a long-term cooperation agreement on air defense.
The cooperation included the possibility of exporting 100-150 new Gripen E fighter jets, which would be Sweden’s largest aircraft export order to date.
“We are fully aware that we have a long road ahead of us,” Kristersson said, with a Swedish-uniformed Gripen in the background.
“But from today we are determined to explore all possibilities of providing Ukraine with large quantities of Gripen fighters in the future.”
The possibility of supplying Gripens to Ukraine has been evaluated for the past two years but has been put on hold so Ukraine can focus on the promotion of US-made F-16 fighter jets, which it began deploying last August.
Speaking through a translator, Zelenskiy said: “We have started working on sending Gripens to Ukraine and expect the future contract to allow us to purchase at least 100 jets of this type.” he said.
Ukrainian pilots were in Sweden to test the Gripen and help facilitate eventual export of the jets, which are a durable and relatively low-cost option compared to aircraft like the US F-35.
Zelenskiy said Ukraine aims to purchase and start using Swedish Gripen jets next year.
“For our army, Gripens is a priority. It’s about money and maneuvers,” he said at the press conference.
Saying that nothing has been decided yet, Kristersson estimated that the production and delivery of the first new aircraft could take three years.
The Gripen has been in service since 1996 and Saab has produced around 280 aircraft in total.
Sweden has ordered 60 of the latest Gripen E model, and Saab aims to increase its capacity at Linkoping to be able to produce 20-30 aircraft per year at the facility within a few years.
Saab also builds Gripens in Brazil.
Before arriving in Linkoping, Zelenskiy made a brief stop in Oslo, where the Norwegian government announced it would donate another 1.5 billion Norwegian kroner ($229.7 million) to Ukraine for the purchase of natural gas to secure electricity and heating.
Russian officials said Wednesday they were conducting a major training exercise on nuclear weapons, a day after the United States announced the postponement of plans for a second summit between presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump on the Ukraine war.
The Kremlin released a video showing Chief of the General Staff General Valery Gerasimov reporting to Putin about the exercises.
Russia has said it has fired missiles from land launchers, submarines and aircraft, including intercontinental ballistic weapons that could hit the United States.
At key moments in the war in Ukraine, Putin issued reminders of Russia’s nuclear power as a warning signal to Ukraine and its allies.
The NATO military alliance is also conducting nuclear deterrence exercises this month.
