As Vladimir Putin‘s war in Ukraine rages, Kyiv needs new weaponry, and experts believe the Swedish Gripen is the best jet for the war-torn nation.
What Happened: Gripen – a 4.5th-generation multirole fighter jet built by Sweden’s Saab – is “by far the most suitable candidate in terms of operational requirements,” British think tank, the Royal United Services Institute said in a report.
It said Ukraine needs a fighter jet with missiles that offer “the greatest possible effective range under low-altitude, subsonic launch conditions” to bypass Putin’s air defenses – including the S-400 missile system, which can target Kyiv’s jets at higher altitudes.
The fighter jet is capable of carrying the Meteor air-to-air missile, which is “less adversely affected” when fired from safer distances – thanks to its ramjet design and has a 100 km range.
It also has a suite of electronic-warfare capabilities that are particularly designed to reduce the effectiveness of the radars used by Moscow’s jets and surface-to-air missile systems.
The report added that since Kyiv’s airstrip remains under threat from Putin’s war, this jet can allow Kyiv to operate from basic airbases with smaller ground crews and minimize the risk of the equipment being detected and destroyed on the ground.
Since the jet needs only one crew member to be highly trained, the experts said, this would ease the strain on the country’s already overstretched air force. Compared to Gripen, most U.S. fighter jets require extensive ground support equipment, which “would be difficult to build without being observed and hit,” the report adds.
Another report from Saab showed that Gripen’s operational cost — including fuel, repairs and maintenance, and personnel — is much lower than the US-made F-16, F-18E/F, and F-35 and the French-built Rafale.
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