Sweden to possibly donate Saab JAS 39 Gripen fighters to Ukraine from 2027.

According to Boyko Nikolov in BulgarianMilitary.com, in 2027, the Czech Republic will cease operating the JAS 39C Gripen fighters and intends to arm its air force with F-35s (at least such are the Czech intention, Boyko Nikolov writes]. Then, Sweden could agree with the Czech Republic to provide 14 ‘’obsolete’’ JAS 39 Gripen fighters to Ukraine free of charge: 12 single-seat JAS 39C and 2 two-seat JAS 39D.

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Czech Air Force Saab JAS 39C Gripen (Picture source: Wikipedia/Milan Nykodym)

Czech JAS-39C/D Gripen multirole fighters fulfill primarily the tasks related to the air defense of the Czech Republic and NATO within the system of NATINAMDS. In the so-called national reinforcement system, the subsonic L-159 ALCA jets could be deployed to fulfill this task too.

The Czech Republic plans the replacement of its fleet of leased JAS-39C/D Gripens and intends to make an inquiry to the U.S. government for the acquisition of 24 units of Lockheed Martin F-35A. However, Ukrainian media Defense Express claims that, if the acquisition becomes a fact, then Sweden is ready to allow the Czech Republic to donate 14 Gripen fighters to Ukraine, Boyko Nikolov reports. According to the Ukrainian media, this can only become a fact in 2027 (and later) because then the lease of the Czech Gripen fighters to Saab will expire. But the manufacturer has offered the Czechs to upgrade their JAS 39Cs to the E/F standard. If Prague accepts Stockholm’s proposal, Kyiv will not receive these JAS 39Cs.

Saab holds the production and trade license and without Sweden’s consent, the fighters cannot be used by anyone else, except the Czech Air Force.