Sweden said Tuesday it was suspending plans to send Gripen jets to Ukraine, as its partners want to prioritize the delivery of F-16s fighter jets to Kyiv.
“The other countries in the air force coalition have asked us to wait before donating the Gripen system,” a spokesman for Defence Minister Pal Jonson told AFP.
“Our partners in the air force coalition underline that there are significant complexities involved in introducing two fighter jet systems simultaneously and that the focus should be on introducing the F-16 system in the Ukrainian air force,” he said.
Sweden has not taken a formal decision to donate Gripens to Kyiv, but in September said Ukrainian pilots had completed initial training in anticipation of the arrival of the aircraft.
Tuesday’s decision was announced in Brussels, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo signed an agreement under which Belgium will supply 30 F-16 fighter jets by 2028.
The Netherlands and Denmark lead a coalition of 11 countries that have pledged to deliver the US-made jets to Ukraine and train Ukrainian pilots.
“We are not excluding sending Gripens at a later stage,” the Swedish defense ministry spokesman said.
The Scandinavian country has more than 90 JAS 39 Gripen jets at its disposal, made by defense group Saab.