Ukraine remains interested in acquiring Swedish JAS 39 Gripen 4+ generation multirole fighters, as reiterated by Ihor Zhovkva, the Deputy Head of the Ukrainian President's Office. This statement comes despite recent claims from the Swedish side that the transfer of these fighters had been paused at Ukraine's request.
For a reminder, this Thursday, Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Tobias Billström stated that Ukraine decided to delay the acquisition of JAS 39 Gripens until preparations to receive F-16 fighters from the United States were completed. The reason was, "two air fighter systems at the same time, both F- 16 and Gripens, would be too much," Billström said. However, Kyiv denies these statements in a comment to Voice of America.
Read more: Ukraine Decides Not to Accept Gripen Jets From Sweden: What Is the Reason?
"I have never heard that the Ukrainians gave up on Gripen fighter jets. On the contrary, this is a topic that my President constantly raises before the leadership of Sweden," Ihor Zhovkva said.
The Ukrainian official also noted that before Sweden's accession to NATO, the Office could not make any promises, but now "the President is again communicating with the Prime Minister of Sweden, and our Ministry of Defense, accordingly, with the appropriate government bodies of Sweden."
Interest in the Gripen fighters was evident as early as August 2023, when representatives of the Ukrainian Air Force, including its top commander Mykola Oleshchuk, visited Sweden to evaluate the aircraft. It was officially stated that Ukraine's Air Force Command would "fight" to secure the Gripens, in a diplomatic sense.
By September, the Swedish Ministry of Defense was assessing the potential transfer of Gripen fighters to Ukraine. According to media reports, 16 to 18 aircraft could be allocated.
However, this topic fell out of public discourse until March 2024, when Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson acknowledged that while Gripen transfers were not ruled out, the F-16 supply remained a priority. He emphasized that this decision was made not unilaterally but within the broader coalition of countries committed to developing Ukraine's aviation capabilities, the so-called "fighter jet coalition."
Later, despite the suspension of Gripen transfers, Sweden contributed to Ukraine's defense capabilities by providing its ASC 890 airborne early warning and control system, a significant asset comparable in value to a fighter jet squadron.
That said, regardless of which side decided to pause the transfer of Gripen, the important part is that Kyiv and Stockholm remain in discussions on this matter, with both sides expressing readiness to advance this plan. Given Ukraine's stated need for 128 fighter jets to reach minimum parity with russia, it is clear that F-16s alone will not suffice.
Read more: Saab Says It Would Be a Fairly Rapid Process to Send Gripen Aircraft to Ukraine
