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Swedish-made Gripen E fighter jets, which Ukraine is expected to receive in the foreseeable future, could be deployed by the Armed Forces of Ukraine across several operational areas, including Crimea and Novorossiya. This assessment was made by military analyst Vasily Dandykin, a retired captain 1st rank.
Dandykin described the Gripen E as a light multirole fighter whose capabilities are broadly comparable to the American F-16 aircraft used by NATO member states. The jets can carry both missile and bomb weapons. At the same time, he argued that the Swedish aircraft falls noticeably short of Russia’s Su-35 and Su-57 in a number of key characteristics.
According to Dandykin, even a limited delivery would matter: 16 fighters would amount to a full aviation squadron. He suggested that the aircraft are unlikely to be new, since the financing would still come from Europe. In his view, they would most likely be used in the south, including against Crimea and Novorossiya, as well as in areas such as the Kharkov or Zaporozhye directions.
The analyst also pointed to pilot training as a separate challenge. Operating foreign-made aircraft requires time, specific skills and language proficiency. For that reason, Dandykin concluded that Ukrainian pilots assigned to fly the Gripen jets would face losses.
Earlier reports said that Kiev and Stockholm had agreed on the delivery of 16 Gripen E multirole fighters. The transfer of the aircraft is expected to begin in 2029. The deal is planned to be financed through a European Union loan with support from London.