Ukraine is in talks with its allies to receive Swedish Gripen and European Eurofighter fighter jets, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov revealed during a national telethon.
“Consultations are ongoing regarding Gripen fighters, as well as Eurofighter jets. This is a strong lineup of platforms, and we are discussing the timeline for when they will be delivered,” Umerov stated.
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According to Umerov, Ukraine is in active discussions with its allies, outlining the number of aviation brigades and aircraft required. He also stressed the importance of intensifying negotiations with partners to expand the country’s air capabilities, announcing that solutions are already being developed.
"Last year, we concentrated on pilot training, platform acquisition, and infrastructure development. This year, our focus is on expanding these efforts to gain an advantage over the enemy in the air. These processes were already in motion, but they now need to be scaled up. We're actively working on that, and we already have solutions that we're coordinating with our partners," Umerov explained.
Defense Express emphasizes an important point – for the first time since the beginning of the full-scale war, an official statement has been made that Ukraine is working on the potential acquisition of Eurofighter jets. This can be considered somewhat intriguing news, as up until now, Ukrainian officials had not publicly addressed the issue of acquiring these jets at such a high level.
Throughout 2023, Western media speculated that the United Kingdom might transfer some of its Eurofighter jets to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, specifically the oldest version, known as Tranche 1.
In early February 2023, reports indicated that the UK could provide Ukraine with its oldest Eurofighter jets, which had previously been used in combat over Libya and were now serving as "aggressor" aircraft for training purposes. However, by December 2023, the reports changed, stating that the UK would not be sending these outdated Eurofighter Typhoons to Ukraine and would instead scrap them. Notably, these reports were not accompanied by any official statements from Ukraine’s military or political leadership.
Therefore, we need to consider that throughout 2024, a different and more favorable configuration may have developed, within which consultations on Eurofighters for Ukraine are now underway, and it is possible that details of this configuration will be revealed in the near future.
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