Ukrainian pilots have undergone training on Swedish fighter aircraft Gripen

This information was reported by Sweden’s Swerige Radio, citing a statement from the Swedish Minister of Defense, Paul Johnson.

The pilots received orientation training, which included test flights both on the aircraft and in simulators. Additionally, ground personnel received instruction.

“As we have mentioned before, we do not rule out sending Gripen aircraft to Ukraine. The experience gained during the training program should serve as the basis for the ongoing work to determine the conditions for this”, said the head of Sweden’s Ministry of Defense.

According to Paul Johnson, the experience of training Ukrainian pilots will be used to assess whether the necessary conditions exist for sending these fighter aircraft to Ukraine.

What is known about the transfer of Gripen fighter aircraft:

In June, Sweden announced that it would allow Ukrainian pilots to train on Gripen aircraft. It was stated that several experienced Ukrainian pilots would undergo training on Swedish-made aircraft.

On August 19, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine is working on acquiring modern aircraft to counterbalance Russia’s advantage in the sky.

On August 21, it became known that Sweden currently has no plans to transfer Gripen fighter aircraft to Ukraine. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson stated that his country needs to keep these aircraft in its own arsenal.

Additional information: JAS 39 Gripen is a Swedish multi-role fourth-generation fighter aircraft. The aircraft has a flight range of 3,250 km. Gripen fighters are known for being cost-effective compared to the F-16 and easier to master, but they are not as numerous.

Photo: open sources