According to the results of the meeting of the Contact Group on Defense of Ukraine, the Ministry of Defense of Sweden confirmed that Ukrainian pilots will take part in "familiarization training" on Swedish JAS 39 Gripen fighters.
This is stated in the statement of the Ministry of Defense of Sweden.
According to the decision, the Armed Forces of Sweden "are instructed to conduct familiarization training of Ukrainian pilots and related aviation technical personnel on the JAS 39 aircraft."
"The prerequisites are that the Armed Forces of Ukraine expressed a desire to be able to quickly evaluate the JAS 39, as one of the most urgent measures is to strengthen the air defense of Ukraine with a modern fighter aircraft system," the agency added.
We will remind that back in May, Swedish Defense Minister Paul Jonson announced the training of several Ukrainian pilots on the JAS 39 Gripen in response to the request of the Ukrainian side, but there is no mention of the provision of these aircraft.
The Ukrainian government has repeatedly turned to several countries, including Sweden, for help with fighter jets. Requests were made as early as the summer of 2022, and already in February 2023, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov expressed Ukraine's desire to receive the JAS 39 Gripen.
But at the last "Ramstein" Reznikov stated that Kyiv is primarily focused on obtaining F-16 fighters.
In addition, as part of a new package of military aid, the Swedish government agreed to the participation of up to 60 servicemen of the Armed Forces in the creation of logistics centers and maintenance of military equipment near Ukraine, for example, in Poland.
