Ukraine Says Needs 'Fast and Versatile' Gripen Aircraft, Not A-10

Ukraine Says Needs 'Fast and Versatile' Gripen Aircraft, Not A-10

Air space over Ukraine has been contested for more than five months, replete with advanced Russian fighter jets and near-universal Russian surface-to-air missile coverage that make penetration by aging Ukrainian Air Force MiG-29s and Su-25s both risky and dangerous.

For the duration of that time, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov has asked the United States and international partners for Western combat jets and the training to fly them. U.S. officials have weighed in, but they may not be suggesting the right aircraft, a Ukrainian defense official told Air Force Magazine.

“We have been requesting combat aircraft from our partners for a long time now,” Yuriy Sak, adviser to Ukraine’s minister of defense, told Air Force Magazine by phone from Kyiv on July 21. “We need Western-standard fighter jets. We need Western-standard combat aircraft.”

Reznikov again discussed Ukraine’s battlefield needs at a July 20 virtual meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group led by Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III.

Following the meeting, U.S. Air Force leaders indicated that conversations had begun on how to provide Ukraine with Western aircraft, such as older A-10s, but Ukraine says the slower aircraft won’t fill the mission set urgently needed.