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Sweden Open to Selling Gripen Fighter Jets to Ukraine After War Ends, Says Defense Minister
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![Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko]( "Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko")
Sweden is ready to consider selling its advanced Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine once Russia’s war comes to an end, Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson told Breaking Defense on September 3.
“We have a dialogue also with Ukraine, and since they certainly expressed an interest for the Gripen system … predominantly Gripen Echo, the new version that Sweden, Brazil are operating as well,” Jonson said.
“That case … would be more of a long-term endeavor or building a common air force capability as well in the same way other export customers have benefitted from acquiring the Saab aircraft.”
The minister underlined that any such agreement “depends” on the conclusion of the war and emphasized that it “must be a long-term development.
According to Breaking Defense, Western partners have already pledged to help rebuild Ukraine’s Air Force once the war is over, though it remains unclear which mix of aircraft will form the backbone of Kyiv’s future fleet.
“Sweden has great experience in having a very close collaboration with building other countries air forces,” Jonson added. “We’ve done that in very close collaboration with our Czech friends and our Hungarian friends and our Thai friends and our Brazilian friends.”
The announcement comes as Sweden itself faces mounting security challenges in the Baltic region. On June 20, the Swedish Air Force scrambled two JAS 39 Gripen fighter jets after detecting Russian Su-30 aircraft flying in international airspace over the southern Baltic Sea, close to Swedish territory.
The high-alert response—launched on Midsummer’s Eve, one of Sweden’s most celebrated holidays—underscored growing tensions in the region and a sharp rise in Russian military flights near NATO airspace.
“This was not a training exercise,” said Mikael Ågren, spokesperson for the Swedish Armed Forces. “We identified other aircraft,” he added, confirming that the response was triggered by the detection of two Russian Sukhoi Su-30SM multirole fighters.
Earlier, Estonian defense firm Milrem Robotics announced it will deliver Ukraine the largest fleet to date of its THeMIS unmanned ground vehicles.
