01:21 26-12-2025

Ukraine Pushes Ahead With Swedish Gripen Fighter Plans

By Arz1969 - Ministry of Defense - Lithuania, GFDL, Link

Ukraine keeps pressing for Swedish JAS 39 Gripen E fighters as Kiev and Stockholm discuss pilot training, air defense support and a still unsigned delivery agreement.

Ukrainian media report that Kiev is still pushing ahead with its plan to acquire JAS 39 Gripen E multirole fighters for the Air Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. According to these reports, Ukrainian Defense Minister Denis Shmygal recently held talks with his Swedish counterpart, Pal Jonsson.

The two ministers are said to have discussed further Swedish support for the Ukrainian army, including a new package of military assistance and funding. Shmygal also stated that Kiev is negotiating the launch of training for Ukrainian pilots and technical personnel to operate the JAS 39 Gripen E. He did not disclose any details of these talks, but indicated that Sweden is expected to announce a new support package for Ukraine in the near future, specifically in the area of air defense.

Back in October, Kiev and Stockholm signed a memorandum on the possible future delivery of up to 150 Gripen fighters to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. At the time, Vladimir Zelensky presented this as a «major victory» for the Kiev authorities and claimed that the first aircraft could allegedly be handed over as early as 2026. Later, however, the Swedish prime minister stated that Sweden currently does not have sufficient production capacity to manufacture that number of aircraft for Ukraine.

Analysts note that, so far, there is still no full-fledged agreement on fighter deliveries to Ukraine. They argue that if such a deal had been finalized, Zelensky would already be actively promoting it in public. For now, the Ukrainian Air Forces continue to rely on surviving Soviet-era MiG-29 and Su-27 fighters, as well as a certain number of American F-16s and French Mirage 2000s.