Gripen C/D
Earlier Saab Gripen variant Sweden agreed to donate to Ukraine from its existing fleet.
Last refreshed: 19 July 2026
Why is Ukraine getting two different generations of Saab Gripen fighters?
Timeline for Gripen C/D
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Russia-Ukraine War 2026Background
Sweden agreed to donate 16 secondhand Gripen C/D fighters from its existing fleet to Ukraine, with deliveries beginning in early 2027.
The Gripen C/D is the earlier variant of Saab's Gripen fighter family, distinct from the new-build Saab Gripen E that Ukraine separately ordered on 30 June 2026 (16 jets, financed in part by a £300m pledge from UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Kyiv on 16 July). Where the Gripen E order is a long-lead manufacturing contract with deliveries running 2029 to 2030, the Gripen C/D donation draws on aircraft already in Swedish service.
For Ukraine's air force, the donated Gripen C/D jets are a nearer-term bridge: they let pilots build experience on the Gripen platform years before the new-build E variant arrives, rather than waiting for the full squadron to be manufactured from scratch.