Key facts
- Zelensky said the first Gripen jets should arrive in January or February, and that the process is already underway.
- Sweden said in May 2026 it would provide 16 used Gripen C/D jets, with deliveries scheduled to begin in early 2029.
- Ukraine and Sweden signed an agreement on June 30 to buy 16 newer Gripen E jets, with deliveries from 2029.
- Ukraine has expressed interest in acquiring between 100 and 150 Gripen E/F aircraft in total.
- The agreements envisage localizing aircraft production and maintenance in Ukraine, with work expected to begin in 2033.
- Zelensky said Ukraine needs more F-16 jets and ammunition, and that many existing F-16s regularly need repairs due to age.
Ukraine expects to receive its first Swedish-made Gripen fighter jets in early 2027, President Volodymyr Zelensky said at a press conference in Copenhagen on November 10. "They should arrive in January-February, possibly in February," Zelensky said, adding that Ukraine had raised the issue of needing them as quickly as possible and that the process was already underway.
The expected deliveries follow Sweden's announcement in May 2026 that it would provide Ukraine with 16 used Saab JAS 39 Gripen C/D fighter jets and support Kyiv in procuring up to 20 newer Gripen E aircraft. Deliveries of the 16 aircraft are scheduled to begin in early 2029, with funding provided through the European Union's Ukraine Support Loan mechanism and support from the U.K.
Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson said in May that Ukrainian pilots had already begun training on Swedish fighter jets, and that the program would be expanded in the fall. Separately, Ukraine and Sweden signed an agreement on June 30 for the purchase of 16 newer Gripen E fighter jets, with deliveries scheduled to begin in 2029. Ukraine has also expressed interest in acquiring between 100 and 150 Gripen E/F aircraft in total, and the agreements envisage localizing aircraft production and maintenance in Ukraine, with work expected to begin in 2033.
Zelensky also stressed Ukraine's need for additional F-16 fighter jets and ammunition, noting that many of the country's existing F-16s regularly require repairs due to their age. The transfer would expand a Western-supplied fleet that already includes American F-16s and French Mirage 2000s but remains insufficient to fully defend Ukrainian cities and infrastructure from daily Russian strikes, according to the report.