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Sweden Orders 16 Gripen E Jets for Ukraine Delivery Starting 2029
Saab signed a contract with Sweden's defense procurement agency to supply 16 Gripen E fighters valued at SEK 24.6 billion. The jets will be delivered to Sweden between 2029 and 2030 before transfer to Ukraine.
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Swedish defense firm Saab signed a contract today to supply 16 Gripen E fighters to Ukraine through the Swedish Defense Materiel Administration. The order is valued at approximately SEK 24.6 billion, or $2.5 billion, and will be booked in the third quarter of this year.
The contract covers the aircraft plus spare parts and associated equipment. Saab will deliver the jets to the procurement agency between 2029 and 2030, after which they will be transferred to Ukraine.
The Gripen E features a larger fuselage holding roughly 30 percent more fuel than the earlier Gripen C/D, a General Electric F414 engine, and ten hardpoints for weapons. Its cockpit includes a single Wide Area Display, and the aircraft carries an ES-05 Raven active electronically scanned array radar mounted on a rotating repositioner.
The radar enables longer detection ranges and improved tracking of small targets such as drones and cruise missiles. The jet can carry up to seven MBDA Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles integrated with the new radar and an infrared search and track sensor.
E aircraft are designed for dispersed operations from short stretches of road or temporary runways. Low maintenance requirements and fast turnaround times support high availability in demanding environments. The software-based architecture allows rapid insertion of new hardware and updated applications.
Customers can also develop their own software to adapt the aircraft to evolving threats. These platforms can detect and track targets, prioritize threats, and provide mid-course guidance updates to missiles after launch.
Ukrainian pilots and technicians on the Gripen C/D is already underway and will expand this fall. Sweden previously agreed to donate up to 16 secondhand Gripen C/D aircraft, with handover scheduled for early 2027. Swedish officials have stated that the long-term ambition remains acquisition of 100-150 Gripen aircraft, though that goal exists only as a statement of intent at present.
