Get a Grip(en)

Ukraine is throwing in with the Swedes:

Initial reports suggest a buy of up to 150 aircraft, which would substantially recapitalize Ukraine’s stock of modern fighter aircraft. Ukraine is thought to have around a hundred fighters of various types and vintages at the moment.

However, maintenance and interoperability problems have naturally followed the “petting zoo” approach to procurement. There is, as yet, no clear explanation of how Ukraine might afford the jets, although one plan involves using seized Russian assets to defray Sweden’s expenses.

One hundred and fifty jets are a lot, representing about half of the total number of Gripen aircraft constructed to date.

Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky suggested that the first aircraft could be delivered in 2026, which probably means surplus Swedish aircraft rather than new construction for initial delivery.

Other Ukraine news:

• The Russian advance into Pokrovsk is concerning, although the weather will probably limit the immediate damage.
• Maybe the future of airpower is denial? Probably?
• The Azov Brigade is important in military terms but probably not in political terms.
• Fiber optic drones are becoming lethal at ever-increasing ranges…
• I have always wondered how Konigsberg became Kaliningrad…
• The financial and bureaucratic challenges to getting more US weapons to Ukraine.
• Assessing the RFS Admiral Nakhimov from space…

Photo Credit: By Oleg V. Belyakov – AirTeamImages – Gallery page http://www.airliners.net/photo/Sweden—Air/Saab-JAS-39C-Gripen/2279593/LPhoto http://cdn-www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/photos/3/9/5/2279593.jpg, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27377950