Sweden avoids scrapping Gripens, perhaps saving them for Ukraine?
September 10, 2024
Historically, when building new Gripen variants, Sweden has cannibalised older Gripen models for ‘Materiel kits’, including (for example) ejection seats and canopies, in order to save money. Thus many new-build Gripen Ds required two Gripen As to be scrapped to support their manufacture.
The original plan was to cut the cost of building 60 Gripen Es for the Swedish Air Force by using similar ‘Materiel kits’ from active Gripen C/D aircraft. These plans changed and in 2017-18 some 20 new equipment kits were ordered for the first 20 Gripen E aircraft.
Support package 17 for Ukraine will include an unspecified number of new equipment kits for the Gripen, to a value of approximately SEK 2.3 billion (US $220 m). This represents roughly half of the value of this latest Swedish aid package to Ukraine. By procuring new equipment sets, Sweden will not need to source ‘Materiel kits’ by scrapping JAS 39C/D aircraft. This could create the conditions for Sweden to donate the JAS 39C/Ds that would otherwise have been scrapped.
Ukraine has had an interest in the Gripen for some time, probably attracted by the type’s proven ability to operate from austere forward airstrips, and by its relatively low support and maintenance requirements. In Swedish service, the Gripen is routinely maintained by small numbers of conscripted groundcrew.
In July 2022, Oleksii Reznikov, the Ukrainian Minister of Defence, announced that the JAS 39 Gripen was under consideration for the Ukrainian Air Force. A little more than one year later, in August 2023, Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukrainian pilots had already begun training on the Gripen, and by December 2023, it was being reported that bilateral discussions between Sweden and Ukraine were underway, regarding a possible transfer of Gripen aircraft. But the pace has slowed since then, perhaps reflecting Ukraine’s need to prioritize the integration of its new F-16s, or perhaps reflecting the difficulties of maintaining (and manning) two new fighter fleets. With Sweden’s accession to NATO and continuing tensions, Sweden may have itself decided that no Gripens can be spared just yet.
The Swedish Regeringskansliet, or Government Office has given an official explanation, confirming that: “At the moment, it is not relevant to transfer the JAS Gripen to Ukraine, as it would interfere with the introduction of the F-16.”
In the longer term, however, the transfer of Gripens to Ukraine cannot be ruled out, and the procurement of new ‘Materiel kits’ for the next batch of JAS 39Es means that existing operational JAS 39C/Ds will not need to be dismantled. This will keep more JAS 39C/Ds intact, and available for service in Sweden, and for export or transfer.
