Ukraine Agrees to Purchase 100-Plus Swedish Fighter Jets
Fourth-generation Saab Gripen-E to support the country’s war defense.
Fourth-generation Saab Gripen-E to support the country’s war defense.
Thirty-eight of the 67 people on board were killed in the December 2024 incident.
Defense Department wants small and cheap UAVs that can be used as munitions.
War-torn country has sought access to the fighter jets in order to modernize its air defenses following Russia’s invasion in 2022.
Pilot Oleksiy Mes, known as ‘Moonfish,’ is killed while defending against what is described as Russia’s largest aerial assault on Ukraine.
The country received its first few Vipers in late July and expects it will have around 20 fighter pilots ready for combat by the end of the year.
The fighter jets are initially expected to operate well out of harm’s way, targeting drones and conducting defensive operations.
Following the success of taking out Russian drones with shotguns in a Yak-52, the military is now training to use the rag-and-tube A-22.
The first-of-its-kind competition challenged combat pilots from the U.S., U.K., Norway, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, and Germany.
The confirmation comes days after the Nordic country marked the sale of two dozen of its F-16s to Argentina.