Ukraine in Talks with Allies for Gripens and Typhoons – Ukrainian Defense Minister | Aviation

Motivating the talks for Gripens and Typhoons, Defense Minister Rustem Umyerov said Russia currently uses up to 300 aircraft and the same number of helicopters in the war against Ukraine, which ‘poses a serious challenge to the Ukrainian military.’

After receiving F-16 fighters from European allies, Ukraine has announced it is “negotiating with its allies to acquire Swedish Gripen and European Eurofighter jets,” according to Defense Minister Rustem Umyerov’s announcement on television that was quoted by reports. Sweden previously confirmed discussions for its Gripen jets but had held off on a final decision, but the mention of Eurofighters is new.

“Now we already have from our partners that they give us a commitment for the F-16, they give a commitment for the Mirages,” said Umyerov. “Consultations are on (for) Gripen, consultations are on (for) Eurofighter. That is, this is a very good list of platforms, and we are discussing when they will start.”

The plans to donate a number of Mirage 2000-5 jets were officially announced by French President Emmanuel Macron early in June 2024, together with the training of Ukrainian pilots and troops in France. The first group of Ukrainian pilots also recently concluded the training on the Alpha Jet in France after an initial training phase in the…