2024-07-13 09:34:58
However, now Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström has stated that Ukraine itself made such a decision.
“This has nothing to do with the Swedish government’s decision. “This decision was made because Ukraine came to the conclusion that it would be too much to use two airspace fighter systems at the same time – both F-16 and Gripen,” he explained.
According to T. Billström, Sweden is ready to continue working in this direction.
“However, this does not mean that Sweden is not ready to continue the Gripens transfer if the F-16 program is completed.” Again, this is a matter for Ukraine, not the Swedish government,” the minister said.
It is important to note that T. Billström said that this decision is really logical and related to two factors. First, there are more F-16 fighters.
The second aspect is the difficulties associated with the start of operation of fighters. The example of the F-16 shows how complicated and long this process can be.
“It’s not just a matter of getting planes and training pilots. These are complex systems, and to start using two of them at the same time [Ukrainai] it was too much,” noted T. Billström.
However, another type of fighters promised to Ukraine should be mentioned, the French Mirage 2000 aircraft. French President Emmanuel Macron promised by 2024 transfer these aircraft by the end of the year, as well as train Ukrainian pilots and technicians.
Thus, the commissioning of the F-16 and Mirage 2000 will be carried out in parallel. And this really allows you to look at the supply of the Gripen from a different angle.
Especially when Ukraine’s actual current F-16 requirement is 128 fighters. The only way to get close to this number is to enter into service several types of multirole fighters or to force the United States to reconsider its refusal to transfer F-16s to Ukraine, writes Defense Express.
2024-07-13 09:34:58