Saab Gripen E

Ukraine and Sweden signed a $2.5 billion contract on 30 June 2026 for 16 Saab Gripen E fighters , financed through the EU's Ukraine loan facility, whose first tranche disbursed in Gdansk days earlier , with UK support; British firms build over 30% of each airframe, including the radar and landing gear. Deliveries run 2029 to 2030.

The Gripen E is built for Sweden's dispersed-basing doctrine, refuelling and rearming in 10 to 15 minutes from short road strips with a small ground crew. It carries the Leonardo ES-05 Raven AESA radar, a General Electric F414G engine and ten hardpoints, with more internal fuel than the earlier Gripen c/D.

For Ukraine, survivability matters as much as raw numbers after repeated Russian strikes on fixed airbases. A separate batch of 16 secondhand Gripen c/D jets arrives from Swedish stocks in early 2027, bridging the gap before the new-build E variant lands.