Zelensky Announces Plan to Acquire Up to 150 Swedish Fighter Jets

Sweden and Ukraine have signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) that will see the Nordic nation supply up to 150 of its domestically produced JAS 39 Gripen fighter jets to Kyiv. The state-of-the-art aircraft will be delivered over several years and are expected to form the backbone of the Ukrainian Air Force.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in Linköping, southern Sweden, and visited Saab, the manufacturer of the JAS 39 Gripen fighter, the GlobalEye surveillance aircraft, missile systems, anti-tank infantry weapons, and other equipment.

Kristersson told a news conference on Wednesday, October 22, that the two countries had signed a long-term cooperation agreement on air defenses.

Ukraine to Buy Modern JAS 39 Gripen E Fighter Jets

The cooperation includes the possibility of exporting 100–150 new Gripen E fighter jets, in what would be Sweden’s largest-ever aircraft export order.

“We fully realize it’s a long road ahead of us,” Kristersson said. “But from today, we are committed to exploring all the possibilities in providing Ukraine with a large number of Gripen fighters in the future.”

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He added, “The deal will allow us to build a very serious Ukrainian Air Force. This is the beginning of a long journey for 10–15 years.”

“This agreement is not aimed at any deliveries, specifically at this moment. About 120–150 Gripen E-series fighters, which are now starting to be produced,” he noted.

Kristersson also highlighted that this is a first step, but the issue of long-term financing must be resolved.

“An important step in this may be taken as early as tomorrow when the issue of frozen Russian assets is raised in the European Council,” he said.

Zelenskyy Says Ukraine Could Begin Gripen Jet Operations in 2026

Zelenskyy said next year could mark the beginning of Gripen aircraft operations. He noted that while a framework agreement still needs to be prepared, pilots, equipment, and infrastructure are already being readied.

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The Ukrainian President added that the agreement could help Ukraine move forward toward building a fleet of Gripen planes, which he described as highly capable of protecting the country against various threats.

“Today, one of the key topics of our negotiations was strengthening Ukraine’s defense capabilities. “We have started the work to obtain Gripens to Ukraine and expect the future contract to allow us to acquire no less than 100 such jets,” Zelenskyy said.

“We consider the JAS 39 Gripen aircraft to be one of the most effective elements of this effort and count on the first deliveries of Gripens already in 2026. For our army, Gripens are a priority. It is about money, about maneuvers,”

The possibility of supplying Gripens to Ukraine has been under consideration over the past two years, but was put on hold to allow Kyiv to focus on the introduction of American-made F-16 fighters that it began deploying last August.

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