Ukraine may purchase up to 150 Gripen fighter jets from Sweden, paying for them with frozen Russian assets, according to The Guardian newspaper.
“Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said that the purchase could be financed by frozen Russian assets held in Western countries, as well as by allied states from the ‘Coalition of the Willing,’” the publication wrote on Thursday.
It is noted that Ukraine already has American-made F-16 fighter jets and French-made Mirage 2000 fighter jets. Gripen has long been considered more practical for Ukrainian combat conditions — for example, it is designed to take off and land on civilian roads as well as runways so that it can conduct combat operations from dispersed locations, not just airfields.
Justin Bronk, an air warfare expert at the Royal United Services Institute in London, said that the Gripen E “hypothetically be a much more powerful medium-weight fighter” than Ukraine’s existing fleet, thanks to its radar, internal electronic warfare systems, and ability to carry and launch long-range Meteor air-to-air missiles.
Sweden has reportedly ordered 60 of the latest Gripen E aircraft, and Saab is expanding capacity at its factory in Linköping, aiming to produce 20 to 30 aircraft per year, as well as building them in Brazil.
“We fully understand that there is a long way to go… But starting today, we are committed to exploring all possibilities to provide Ukraine with a large number of Gripen fighters in the future,” the publication quotes the Swedish prime minister as saying.
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