Sweden Announces IDR 6.9 Trillion Military Aid For Ukraine, Including Gripen Fighter Jets?

Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson. (Wikimedia Commons/Chief, National Guard Bureau)

JAKARTA - Sweden will send 17th aid packages to Ukraine with further military support worth a total of 4.6 billion Swedish crowns (Rp6,919,577,232,000), Defense Minister Pal Jonson said Monday.

The new package will include ammunition for infantry fighting vehicles that have been donated by Sweden, as well as purchases that will facilitate the transfer of the country's JAS 39 Gripen fighter jets in the future, although the transfer has yet to be decided.

"We want to have the ability to donate Gripen to Ukraine in the next stage," Defense Minister Jonson told a news conference.

Defense Minister Jonson further said the support included additional combat boats, missiles and camouflage equipment and funding to support defense procurement for Ukraine. The measures were decided through close cooperation with Kyiv.

About half of the value of this package consists of the spare parts needed in the production of the latest Gripen E fighter aircraft for its air force.

This means Sweden does not need to liquidate existing C/D models as part of the upgrade, thus allowing older jets to be transferred to Ukraine in the future.

"At the moment, there are no plans to transfer JAS Gripen to Ukraine as this would disrupt the introduction of the F-16," the government said in a statement.