Saab 340 airborne early warning aircraft appears over Ukraine for the 1st time
March 24, 2026
The first Saab 340 AEW&Cs aircraft appears to have been spotted flying in Ukraine. While details of the elusive aircraft are murky at best, the type may have been operating in Ukraine for a year now.
Ex-Swedish Saab 340 AEW&Cs spotted in Ukraine
It seems that the Ukrainian Air Force has taken another significant step in regenerating its capabilities after a donated ex-Swedish Saab 340 (Saab ASC 890) was apparently spotted flying in the country.
Russians are posting footage they claim shows likely a Swedish Saab 340 AEW&C long-range radar and control aircraft flying over Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/XkFZlok2B3
— WarTranslated (@wartranslated) March 20, 2026
It is unclear whether the footage posted by a Russian Telegram account shows a donated Saab 340 operating in Ukraine or if it has been altered. But if it is legitimate, it would mark the first time the aircraft has been seen in Ukraine.
The video’s date and location can’t be confirmed, but OSINT accounts are taking it seriously. Given their value and being high-priority targets for Russia, Ukraine’s Saab 340s are likely to operate in Western Ukraine, far from the frontline.
Russia’s AEW&C capability is centred on its large A-50U Mainstay aircraft, of which it was estimated to have had nine in service in 2022. Two have been shot down with total loss of trained crew, and another had the radar dome damaged by a small drone. This month, Ukraine claims to have damaged another A-50 in a large drone strike as it was undergoing maintenance.
Saab 340 AEW might have been operating in Ukraine for up to a year
But while this may be the first time the Saab 340 has been seen in public in Ukraine, it doesn’t mean the aircraft has only just arrived. The War Zone wrote, “There are suggestions that the type has been flying in Ukrainian skies for some time.”
🇸🇪Saab 360 AEW&C airborne early warning and targeting aircraft "transferred" to #Kyiv & conducted its first test flight over the #Lviv region in western
— C4H10FO2P ☠️ (@markito0171) April 21, 2025
🇺🇦#Ukraine pic.twitter.com/f9gMSDTM1S
The publication cited open-source flight-tracking reporting that suggests a flight with the callsign WELCOME last April may have been the Saab 340.
Sweden announced in May 2024 that it would donate its two Saab 340 AEW&C aircraft to Ukraine. It also said it would take around a year to train Ukraine to operate the aircraft.
🇸🇪🇺🇦 Sweden will send military aid worth $1.3 billion to Ukraine, its biggest package so far, -Reuters
— MAKS 25 🇺🇦👀 (@Maks_NAFO_FELLA) May 29, 2024
❗️The package would among other things help strengthen the Ukrainian air defence and included Saab's Airborne Surveillance and Control (ASC) 890 aircraft. pic.twitter.com/Uj1GaFsGca
Sweden acknowledged this would cause a temporary gap in Swedish capabilities, but that would be filled by expediting the delivery of three new Saab GlobalEye AEW&C aircraft.
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A significant leap in Ukraine’s situational awareness
The War Zone writes, “For Ukraine, the significance of the Saab 340 AEW&C is hard to overstate. It brings an entirely new capability for the Ukrainian Air Force, which has never operated any type of AEW&C platform.”
This provides Ukraine with a ‘lookdown’ capability, allowing Ukraine to track low-flying targets like drones and missiles as well as fighter jets. The aircraft provides Ukraine with a huge situational awareness boost that it can fit into its expanding layered air defence network.
The information is particularly useful to donated Western jets like the F-16 and Mirage 2000 through the NATO-standard Link 16 datalink. It is unclear if Link 16 is available to Ukraine, with some reports suggesting the US disabled it on the F-16s before they were donated.
Still, there are reports that Ukrainian F-16s are able to communicate with the Saab 340s.
Separately, Ukraine and Sweden signed a letter of intent in late 2025 for the eventual supply of up to 150 Saab Gripen E fighter jets. Gripens, Rafales, and F-16s are planned to be the backbone of Ukraine’s post-war fighter jet fleet.
Featured Image: Wikimedia Commons
