Sweden and Ukraine are moving forward with financing a major deal that could include the sale of up to 150 Gripen E fighters to Kiev, Swedish Defense Minister Poul Jonsson said, adding that Stockholm could finance part of the deal through military aid, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
Sweden signed a long-term air defense cooperation agreement with Ukraine in October, which includes the possibility of exporting fourth-generation fighters.
This would be the largest aircraft order in Sweden's history, Reuters notes.
The value of the potential deal was not disclosed, but the manufacturer Saab sold four Gripen jets to Thailand in the third quarter in a deal worth 5.3 billion Swedish kronor ($563 million), raising doubts about whether Ukraine would be able to finance the purchase.
"It (financing) is progressing and we are working closely with the Ukrainian side," Jönsson said, adding that Ukraine's ability to finance the purchase of the planes from its own budget after the war would be a central part of the deal, but he indicated that there were other ways.
"We can look at export credits, frozen Russian assets and our framework for aid to Ukraine, which is 40 billion kronor next year and 40 billion in 2027," he said.
Jönsson also said that Sweden had presented the deal to the so-called Coalition of the Willing - a group of 16 European countries determined to help finance Ukraine, and that some of the countries may be willing to help finance the planes.
Jonsson said that Sweden is pushing hard in negotiations with other EU countries for frozen Russian assets worth 200 billion euros to be used to finance Ukraine's armed forces.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said in October that a deal for the planes with Ukraine was "very realistic," but added that much work remained and that the first planes could be delivered in three years.
Jonsson hosted his Ukrainian counterpart Denys Shmyhal in Stockholm today.
“We will establish a joint center in Ukraine where Swedish officials will work on defense innovation,” Jonsson said at a joint press conference with Shmyhal. “This will strengthen our common capabilities to develop and produce new technologies for the battlefield,“ he added.
Shmikhal said Ukraine had asked Sweden to start training pilots for the “Gripen“ aircraft as soon as possible. He said Ukraine would also ask Sweden to provide it with already produced “Gripen“ models next year.
Analysts see the “Gripen“ fighters as a low-cost alternative to more expensive fifth-generation aircraft such as the F-35.