Ukraine to buy 20 new Gripen jets, Sweden to donate older jets sooner

UPPSALA, Sweden — Ukraine will buy 20 new Gripen fighter jets, and Sweden will donate 16 of an older model next year, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said at a joint press conference on Thursday.

The two leaders had signed a letter of intent last year paving the way for Sweden to sell up to 150 Saab Gripen model E fighter jets to Ukraine, though deliveries of the newer model are several years away.

The planes are ​a priority for Ukraine’s fighter fleet and the country’s defense minister said in May that a deal for Gripen E could be signed “within months” after the European Union approved a €90 billion ($105 billion) loan for Ukraine.

“Gripen is the best and optimal choice for Ukraine. So today, we take the next major step on this joint journey,” Kristersson said at a press conference alongside Zelenskyy at Uppsala air base, where two Gripen jets were on display.

“We need these jets, and for us this is really a new page for Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said, adding it planned to buy all the 150 jets stipulated in the original letter of intent. “God bless, we will have enough financing for this,” he said.

The transfer of older model C/D jets enables a stopgap solution for Ukraine’s air defense in the meantime.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine had earmarked €2.5 billion out of a €90 billion EU loan package for the planes. Deliveries of the new model are expected to reach Ukraine from 2030.

‘Big day’ for Gripen maker Saab

Shares in Saab were up 4.4% at 1141 GMT, making it the top gainer in Europe.

Saab CEO Micael Johansson said it was a big day for the company and that the deal added to the momentum around Gripen.

“The more countries that select the Gripen fighter ... and it starts flying in operations in more countries, the more people understand what a fantastic capability this is,” Johansson told Reuters at the Uppsala air base.

Sweden is one of the largest contributors to Ukraine and has sent 128 billion Swedish crowns ($13.75 billion) worth of military and civilian aid so far. It has also set aside 80 billion crowns in aid for this year and next.

Ukraine’s air force is made up of a mixture of Soviet-made and Western aircraft. Gripen is seen as a cost-efficient alternative to fighters like the more advanced American F-35, being easy and quick to maintain and able to operate from dispersed air bases such as ordinary roads.

For Sweden, the deal also offers an opportunity to leverage its large defense industry, which has seen a surge in demand since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

瑞典乌普萨拉——乌克兰总统泽连斯基和瑞典首相克里斯特松周四在联合新闻发布会上表示，乌克兰明年将购买 20 架新的鹰狮战斗机，瑞典将捐赠 16 架旧型号的鹰狮战斗机。

去年，两国领导人签署了一份意向书，为瑞典向乌克兰出售多达 150 架萨博鹰狮 E 型战斗机铺平了道路，尽管新型号的交付还需要几年时间。

这些飞机是乌克兰战斗机部队的优先事项，该国国防部长在 5 月份表示，在欧盟批准向乌克兰提供 900 亿欧元（1050 亿美元）贷款后，鹰狮 E 战斗机的交易可能“在几个月内”签署。

“鹰狮战斗机是乌克兰的最佳选择。因此，今天，我们在这段共同征程中迈出了下一个重要一步，”克里斯特松在乌普萨拉空军基地与泽连斯基一同举行的新闻发布会上说道，当时那里正在展示两架鹰狮战斗机。

泽连斯基表示：“我们需要这些战机，这对乌克兰来说确实是一个新的篇章。”他还补充说，乌克兰计划购买最初意向书中规定的全部150架战机。“上帝保佑，我们将有足够的资金来完成这项采购。”他说。

在此期间，移交老款 C/D 型喷气式飞机可以为乌克兰的防空提供一个权宜之计。

泽连斯基表示，乌克兰已从欧盟900亿欧元的贷款计划中拨出25亿欧元用于购买这些飞机。预计新机型将于2030年开始交付乌克兰。

对于鹰狮战斗机制造商萨博来说，这是“重要的一天”。

截至格林威治标准时间 11:41，萨博股价上涨 4.4%，成为欧洲涨幅最大的股票。

萨博首席执行官迈克尔·约翰逊表示，这对公司来说是意义重大的一天，这笔交易进一步推动了鹰狮战斗机的发展势头。

约翰逊在乌普萨拉空军基地告诉路透社：“选择鹰狮战斗机的国家越多……它在更多国家投入作战行动的次数越多，人们就越能理解这是一种多么了不起的能力。”

瑞典是乌克兰最大的援助国之一，迄今已向乌克兰提供了价值1280亿瑞典克朗（约合137.5亿美元）的军事和民事援助。此外，瑞典还拨出800亿瑞典克朗用于今明两年的援助。

乌克兰空军的飞机由苏联制造和西方制造的飞机混合组成。鹰狮战斗机被视为比更先进的美国F-35战斗机更具成本效益的替代品，它维护简便快捷，并且能够在分散的空军基地（例如普通公路沿线）起降。

对于瑞典而言，这项协议也提供了一个利用其庞大国防工业的机会，自俄罗斯入侵乌克兰以来，瑞典国防工业的需求激增。