Sweden and Ukraine have now announced that the JAS 39 Gripen will be delivered to Ukraine. The announcement was made during the ongoing press conference between Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Upplands flygflottilj (Uppsala Air Wing) in Uppsala, central Sweden.
Prime Minister Kristersson opened the press conference by announcing that Ukraine intends to initially purchase 20 JAS 39 Gripen E aircraft. In addition, Sweden will donate 16 aircraft of the earlier Gripen C variant, as Saab delivers the newer Gripen E to the Swedish Armed Forces.
Ulf Kristersson further stated that Sweden's donation is conditional on Ukraine receiving export licences from Swedish authorities and completing the purchase of the Gripen E.
President Zelenskyy also announced that Ukraine intends to purchase an additional 130 Gripen E aircraft, though this is contingent on the EU loan of 90 billion euros. He added that they expect the Gripen to be flying over Ukraine within ten months.
The meeting takes place within the framework of the bilateral defence cooperation agreement between Sweden and Ukraine. Also present were Defence Minister Pål Jonson, Swedish Air Force Commander Jonas Wikman, and representatives of the Ukrainian government and armed forces.
Ahead of the meeting, the Swedish government had signalled that an announcement related to aviation would be made. Earlier in the day, Zelenskyy wrote on X that Ukraine and Sweden had prepared "a strong step" regarding the Gripen system.
The question of supplying Gripen aircraft to Ukraine has been under discussion since autumn 2023, when the Swedish government tasked the Swedish Armed Forces (Försvarsmakten) and the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) with analysing the conditions for donating or exporting the combat aircraft to Ukraine. Since then, the two countries have conducted training programmes, established working groups, and signed letters of intent regarding future Gripen cooperation.