A letter of intent for a possible agreement to provide Kyiv with up to 150 Gripen E fighter planes over the next several years was signed by Sweden and Ukraine on Wednesday. The defense firm Saab, which manufactures Gripen planes and other armaments, is based in Linköping, where Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met.
Kristersson explained that no fresh supply were the immediate target of the memorandum. The Swedish prime minister stated, “This is the start of a long journey of 10-15 years,” noting that the agreement relates to the most recent model of the plane. As a result, production capacity is still constrained.
The potential of providing the aircraft to Ukraine’s Air Force, which currently uses Western aircraft such as the F-16 and Mirage 2000, has been brought up on several occasions by Kyiv and Stockholm.
Zelenskyy claimed that when it comes to enhancing Ukraine’s defense capabilities, the JAS 39 Gripen aircraft are one of the most effective elements. According to Swedish media, Thailand’s fighter jet deployments during clashes with Cambodia this year marked the first time this Gripen variant was utilized in direct combat.
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