Air defense coalition urges Sweden to delay delivery of Gripen fighters to Ukraine amid focus on F-16 introduction
Photo: Getty Images
Since Ukraine is currently focused on introducing F-16 aircraft, the member countries of the air defense coalition urged Sweden to postpone the delivery of JAS 39 Gripen fighter aircraft to Ukraine.
The Minister of Defense of Sweden, Pål Jonson, reported this, according to Aftonbladet.
As the head of the defense department noted, the request to Sweden was made after "intense negotiations" with other coalition countries.
Jonson notes that the transfer of the Swedish Gripen does not correspond to how "the coalition looks at the introduction of two systems (F-16 and Gripen — ed.) at the same time."
"We by no means rule out that this may become relevant in the future, but now the focus of the Ukrainian side's attention is the implementation of the F-16 program," the Swedish minister emphasized.
It should be noted that on May 28, the defense ministers of the European Union will hold a meeting of ministers, at which they will also discuss whether to grant permission to Ukraine to strike targets deep in Russian territory with the help of weapons sent by member states.
The head of the EU foreign policy department, Josep Borrell, said that such a step is acceptable from the point of view of international law since Moscow's attacks on Ukraine are coming from the territory of the Russian Federation.
For reference:
In December of last year, the Commander-in-Chief of the Swedish Armed Forces, General Mikael Büden, said that the issue of transferring Gripen aircraft to Ukraine is being discussed at both the political and military operational levels.
It is worth mentioning that Sweden is part of the aviation coalition, which aims to provide fighter jets to Ukraine. Previously, Ukrainian pilots and ground personnel had the opportunity to test Gripen aircraft in Sweden.
Thus, at the end of May, the Swedish government allowed Ukrainian pilots to undergo training on the JAS 39 Gripen fighter. They will be able to practice on simulators and make test flights.
The Saab JAS 39 Gripen is a fourth-generation multi-role aircraft designed for versatility. Although it belongs to the fighter class, it was conceived as a multipurpose aircraft capable of performing various tasks.
