Deputy Minister of Defense: Ukraine is waiting for Swedish “Gripen” fighters. What is known about the delivery

Ukraine expects additional deliveries of F-16, French “Mirage”, and Swedish “Gripen” aircraft.

This was stated by Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Ivan Havrylyuk in an interview with the BBC.

The journalist asked whether the word "expected" refers to all types of aircraft — “Mirage”, “Gripen”, F-16, or just a specific one. General Havrylyuk replied that the list of aircraft was named correctly, but he would not go into detail right now.

"Come on, when you see them in the air over Ukraine, then you will understand," he answered the question about the quantity and delivery dates.

What is known about “Gripen” fighters?

The cost of one “Gripen” fighter is $30-60 million, depending on the configuration and delivery terms. “Gripen” is positioned as the cheapest generation 4+ fighter (the classification of the most modern jet fighters). The price varies depending on the level of modernization.

If we compare the F-16 and “Gripen”, their flight range is almost the same. At the same time, the “Gripen” JAS 39 has an important advantage over the F-16 — unpretentiousness to runways and ease of interflight maintenance.

According to the doctrine of the Swedish Air Force, in the event of war, aircraft should be dispersed and based even on highways, which is relevant in Ukrainian conditions.

In addition, the JAS 39 “Gripen” has one of the cheapest flight hour costs among fighters, which is important for Ukraine. The flight hour cost for the JAS 39C/D version is $7–8 000, and for the JAS 39E/F version, according to unconfirmed data, only $4 000. For comparison, the flight hour for the F-16 costs about $7–8 000, and for the F/A-18 — $12–18 000 in general.

“Gripen” aircraft were produced in small numbers, with fewer than 250 currently in service. These fighters are used in Sweden, Slovakia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Malaysia, Thailand, South Africa and Brazil. The number of aircraft in service in these countries is relatively small, 13-15 units.

F-16 for Ukraine

In 2023, Ukraine and its allies created an "Aviation Coalition" aimed at transferring F-16 combat aircraft to Ukraine. The first batch of F-16s was transferred to Ukraine by the Netherlands, as declared in October 2024. The second batch of aircraft arrived in Ukraine in December 2024, sent by Denmark.

In total, four allied states agreed to transfer F-16s to Kyiv: the Netherlands (24 aircraft), Denmark (19 aircraft), Belgium (30 aircraft by 2028), and Norway (6 aircraft).

Norwayʼs Defense Minister stated in May of this year that his country would deliver all the promised F-16 fighters to Ukraine by the end of 2025.

• Ukrainian pilots became familiar with the “Gripen” back in September 2023. They underwent basic training in simulators, and ground personnel received briefings. Ukraine and Sweden began discussing the future transfer of “Gripen” even earlier.
• Ukraine received the first French “Mirage 2000” fighters on February 6, 2025 — the exact number is unknown.

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