Partner countries are considering the possibility of transferring Swedish Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine, said Yuriy Ihnat, spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, said during a telethon, UNN reports.
The main combat aircraft will be the F-16. Gripen is also being considered, and the Swedish side may transfer to Ukraine the number of Gripens it has today. We are not talking about the number. But the F-16 remains the main combat aircraft. If a decision is made on the Gripen, it will be a good option for us,
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He also noted that Sweden is considering developing a newer version of the Gripen, which will be used by the Swedish Air Force. Therefore, Ukraine will have the prospect of receiving these aircraft.
The spokesman added that Ukrainian pilots have already tested Gripen fighters in Sweden.
During his first visit to the Kingdom of Sweden, the Air Force Commander left specialists there when the meeting was actually taking place to investigate the possibility of providing Ukraine with these aircraft and conduct some familiarization flights to understand how it works and provide a full certificate - whether we can or cannot get this equipment,
Currently, consultations are underway consultations on the transfer of the aircraft are ongoing. He noted that these were only testing of the aircraft, not pilot training. Training of the military will begin only after the decision on the transfer of Gripen aircraft is announced.
To recap
Ukraine and Sweden are discussing joint work in the field of innovation, as well as the possible transfer of Gripen aircraft to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.