Swedish Gripen is definitely not worse than Russian Su-30 and Su-35 fighters, says analyst Badrak

Swedish JAS 39 Gripen fighters, which Ukraine expects to buy, are definitely not worse than Russian aircraft due to their combat capabilities Su-30/Su-35, said in an article for LIGA.net director of the Center for Army, Conversion and Disarmament Studies Valentyn Badrak.

"The military says that Swedish machines are easier to operate, have modern radars and electronic warfare systems, and can take off even from highways and short lanes," the expert noted.

The analyst also noted that Sweden is geographically close to Ukraine, which speeds up both the supply of components and the coordination of technological tasks, especially the transfer (localization) of production of these aircraft: "Ukraine has no right to repeat mistake during the time of the Minister of Internal Affairs Arsen Avakov – direct purchase, and even with some used helicopters."

"There is a potential positive here. On the one hand, the aircraft have not been exported for more than 10 years, and the Swedes received the first of 60 JAS 39 Gripen E fighters ordered in 2013 for their army only in October this year. At the same time, this state of affairs does not mean that the Swedish company SAAB has problems with production. Experts estimate the potential production rate at 12 aircraft per year," said Badrak.

However, the main thing is that this is a secondary issue, because it should be about the gradual transfer of production to Ukraine, the analyst explained.

"It may be recalled that in 2021, SAAB offered India 114 aircraft with the possibility of producing 96 cars in India itself – copying such a production transfer template would be very suitable for Ukraine," the expert explained.

Read more about JAS 39 Gripen fighters in Badrak's text for LIGA.net.

• On October 22, president Zelenskyy and Swedish prime minister Kristersson signed a letter of intent on cooperation in the development of air capabilities, which, in particular, provides for Ukraine's purchase of Gripen aircraft. It's talking about cooperation for the next 10-15 years.
• Swedish PM says Ukraine can buy Gripen by paying for them at the expense of frozen Russian assets.