Ukraine is one step closer to receiving Swedish Saab JAS 39 Gripen fighter jets: Ukrainian pilots have undergone a familiarisation programme on the aircraft's use
Ukraine is one step closer to receiving Swedish Saab JAS 39 Gripen fighter jets: Ukrainian pilots have undergone a familiarisation programme on the aircraft's use
We have already written more than once that in addition to American F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters, Ukraine also wants to receive Swedish Saab JAS 39 Gripen aircraft. Now the AFU Air Force is one step closer to this.
I was under the impression that there just weren’t enough Grippens available to really help Ukraine. I would love to see them get these fighters in a decent number.
This has been raised as a concern before. Reuters is reporting that it'd be a relatively small (but definitely still significant) number sent over, somewhere in the high teens, so it's actually possible that these are previously-decommissioned examples that have been restored or something. There are apparently 24 of Sweden's original fleet in hangar storage awaiting decommission, so it wouldn't seem out of the question. To be clear though this is me guessing, I don't have a source
The Gripen is such a beautiful aircraft.
It will certainly be interesting to see what Ukraine's air force looks like after the war, and what aircraft they will look to for the future.
Sweden is supposed to be neutral... I guess not anymore. Also joining Nato.
Not neutral but alliance free. Then Russia invaded Ukraine and drove both Finland and Sweden into NATO.
Finland joining NATO has to be the biggest self own ever for Russia.