What is the Gripen? Inside Sweden’s fighter jet now heading to Ukraine

STOCKHOLM: Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a letter of intent on Wednesday to export up to 150 of Saab’s Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine after talks in Linkoping, in southern Sweden, where the jets are produced.

WHAT IS THE GRIPEN?

Gripen is a fourth-generation light single-engine supersonic fighter jet. It is a so-called multi-role fighter aircraft, designed for missions such as air-to-air combat, aerial bombing and reconnaissance. It is seen as a solid low-cost alternative to the more expensive fifth generation planes, such as the F-35.

Gripen, Swedish for the mythical creature Griffin, has been in commission since 1996 but has been upgraded several times. The first plane of the latest version, Gripen E, was delivered to the Swedish Air Force in October. In total more than 280 Gripens have been manufactured.

WHERE HAS THE GRIPEN BEEN USED?

Swedish media said Gripens were used in direct combat for the first time this year, when Thailand deployed fighter jets in confrontations with Cambodia. Prior to that, the Gripen has mainly been used for air policing and was deployed to Poland in 2025 as part of a NATO mission to patrol allied airspace. It was also used to enforce the NATO no-fly zone in Libya in 2014.

WHICH OTHER COUNTRIES HAVE BOUGHT THE GRIPEN?

Sweden, neutral until it joined the EU in 1995 and militarily unaligned until it joined NATO in 2024, has relied on Saab to supply its air force since World War Two. It took the decision to develop the Gripen in the 1980s.

The Gripen, which competes with Lockheed Martin’s (LMT.N), opens new tab F-35 and F-16, Dassault Aviation’s (AM.PA), opens new tab Rafale and Eurofighter, has been exported to South Africa, Thailand, Brazil, the Czech Republic and Hungary while Colombia has also decided to buy it.

WHAT ARE THE JETS’ SPECIFICATIONS?

The Gripen E is just over 15 metres long, weighs 16.5 tonnes and can refuel, rearm and be back in the air in 10-20 minutes after landing, and is capable of operating from relatively rough air strips.