The Swedish Gripen fighters, which are expected to enter service with Ukraine's Defense Forces for the first time this year, have one notable drawback: their reliance on American-made engines. With the start of Donald Trump's second presidency and in light of his rhetoric, concerns have intensified over the extent to which countries selecting this aircraft for their air forces could become vulnerable to U.S. political decisions. This issue is, of course, also relevant to Ukraine.
Despite these concerns, Saab has made it clear that the Gripen will, at least for now, continue to be powered by U.S.-made engines. This position was outlined by Saab CEO Micael Johansson in an interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
Read more: Swedish Defense Ministry: Possible End of the War Won't Affect Gripen E Deliveries to Ukraine
"For the Gripen, this [referring to the use of American engines — DE note] is the most economically viable solution. Integrating a different engine into the fighter would be a large-scale undertaking and would undoubtedly be uneconomical," Johansson emphasized.
He further noted that U.S. export policy is no more restrictive than Sweden's own and that the sale of Gripen fighters may, in fact, be beneficial for the United States. "At the very least, it is their second-best option if they are unable to win a competition on their own," Johansson said.
At the same time, it can be cautiously assumed that such statements are, to some extent, a forced position with a political undertone. Sweden is indeed dependent on American components in the production of the Gripen, not only in terms of the engine, and has no realistic ability to eliminate this dependency in the short term.
One illustrative example is Peru, which as recently as last spring planned to purchase the Gripen and came close to signing a firm contract. However, following the impeachment of the country's president at the end of the year, Lima reconsidered the deal and is now leaning toward acquiring U.S.-made F-16 fighters, which may ultimately prove more expensive than the Swedish aircraft.
It should also be recalled that the Gripen C/D variants use the Volvo RM12 engine (a localized version of the F404), while the latest Gripen E/F is powered by the F414.
Previously, Defense Express reported that Sweden had explained how the Gripen E is expected to evolve into a strike aircraft with capabilities approaching those of the F-35 — primarily through a new integrated electronic warfare suite.
Read more: Taurus Missiles May Still Reach Ukraine, as Gripen Integration Is Coming Much Sooner
