With total aid now exceeding €4 billion, Sweden is one of the countries that has proportionally provided the most aid to Ukraine, particularly in the military field, for a country of only 10,5 million inhabitants.
Stockholm has just announced the 17th military aid package that will be sent to Kyiv. Worth €402 million, this new package contains personal protective equipment, new RBS 70 anti-aircraft missiles, as well as equipment to protect the country's maritime and river traffic.
Above all, while the delivery of JAS 39 Gripen fighters to the Ukrainian air force, once considered, seemed to have been ruled out so as not to harm the entry into service of the F-16, Stockholm has just announced an envelope of €201 million to preserve Flygvapnet's Gripen C/D fleet, in order to be able, in the future, to deliver them to Ukraine, at the request of the Swedish government.
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Delivery of JAS 39 Gripen C/D to Ukraine put on hold in face of European F-16s
In May 2023, while in the midst of negotiations for its accession to NATO, Sweden announced that it was considering deliver JAS 39 Gripen single-engine fighters to the Ukrainian Air Force, alongside the F-16s that the United States had just authorized to be transferred to Kyiv.
Highly efficient, equipped with modern on-board electronics, and a large number of weapons and on-board systems, the Gripen, in its C/D version, is a very capable aircraft, probably more effective than the F-16s transferred to Ukraine by European countries. The hypothesis had therefore raised many hopes in the country.
In October 2023, the Swedish authorities had even linked the delivery of these fighters to Ukraine to its membership in NATO, then blocked by Turkey and Hungary. Since then, Ankara and Budapest have lifted their veto, and Sweden officially became the 32nd member of the Atlantic Alliance on March 7, 2024.
However, Stockholm had to put the delivery of the Gripen to Ukraine on hold, with NATO preferring to prioritise the delivery of the F-16s already planned, with around a hundred aircraft planned to be transferred in the coming months, as Ukrainian crews and maintenance personnel are trained.
Deprived of Ukrainian Gripens, Stockholm announced in May 2024, the delivery of 2 ASC 890 advanced air surveillance aircraft, without, however, abandoning its promise made in Kyiv.
Sweden announces 17th military aid package to Ukraine worth 4,6 billion crowns
On September 9, the Swedish government announced a 17th military aid package for UkraineThe deal, worth 4,6 billion crowns, or €402 million, covers various systems for the Ukrainian armed forces, as well as cash aid of 700 million crowns.
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