Sweden will provide an opportunity for Ukrainian fighter pilots to train on Swedish JAS 39 Gripen fighters. Informs Freedom Matrix.
This was reported by tv4.se with reference to the Minister of Defense of the country, Paul Jonsson, who is on an official visit to Ukraine on May 25 together with the Minister of Civil Defense of Sweden, Carl Oscar Bolin.
According to Jonson, several experienced Ukrainian pilots will be able to train on simulators and make test flights on the JAS 39 Gripen.
"It's about orientation training," the minister told TV4 Nyheterna.
However, both countries still have to make a number of decisions before the exercises take place, but the training can be seen as the first step towards Ukraine getting a fighter jet, Swedish journalists say.
At the same time, the likelihood that Swedish aircraft belonging to the Swedish Armed Forces will be involved in the war in Ukraine seems unlikely today.. The Minister of Defense stressed that the six divisions that Sweden has will remain in the country.
"The aircraft that Sweden has are needed for our own national defense, and so far we are not talking about providing any aircraft to Ukraine," he said.
According to tv4.se, the Ukrainian government has repeatedly asked for help with fighter jets from several countries, including Sweden.. Requests were made in the summer of 2022. In February 2023, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov expressed a desire to have access to the JAS 39 Gripen.
Swedish aircraft JAS 39 Gripen are cheaper than their competitors and are considered easy to fly.
“Fighter pilots are an extremely important strategic capability that has been trained for years and whose faces cannot be revealed.. That is why the details of where, when and how the exercises will take place are kept secret - but even today the government can say that it intends to make this possible, ”Swedish journalists say.
"We stood up for Ukraine in this war and see a threat to Sweden if Russia wins this war," the minister said.
During their visit to Ukraine, Swedish officials plan to visit military units already using Swedish defense equipment.
In addition, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky met with Swedish Defense Minister Paul Jonsson.
"Priority issues are important: the aviation coalition, the situation on the front line, the necessary weapons, the formula for peace, Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic integration, Sweden's support. Every day we become even stronger," Zelensky wrote in Telegram.
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