How much better are Gripen than Soviet fighters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine?
To answer this question, we will need, in particular, the experience of China’s exercises held in 2015
During the visit of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Sweden on August 19, 2023, it became known that our pilots are already undergoing “introductory training” on JAS 39 Gripen fighters, which the Swedish government announced in May this year. Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk emphasized that Ukraine would like to receive the Gripen, and that the priority is second only to the F-16, as the JAS 39 Gripen is in no way inferior to its American classmate in terms of performance. Pilots with combat experience in 2016 were seconded to master Swedish aircraft.
Although, of course, the process of the possible transfer of the Gripen does not promise to be quick. As Andriy Sybiga, deputy head of the OP, also emphasized during the telethon, Ukraine also needs permits for the JAS 39 Gripen from other countries that supply components for this aircraft, including the United States.
At first glance, the advantages of the Swedish JAS 39 Gripen are obvious enough to understand why these fighters are so desirable for Ukraine. But on the other hand, it is worth giving detailed characteristics to give a balanced picture of this type of aircraft.
Thus, the Gripen can be used for a long time from highways or operational sites in isolation from the main base. But after a certain period of time, these fighters still have to return to their main base to ensure the stability of the maintenance cycle.
In one of its publications, Defense Express described how the Hungarian Air Force used its JAS 39 Gripen “in the field” of the NATO Air Policing mission in Lithuania – everything went smoothly for 4 months of patrols, but the fighters had to return to the base for technical reasons. Or, Sweden has recently declared its readiness to transfer to Ukraine, through “third parties,” i.e. the United States, air-to-air missiles of the Rb 99 type, a licensed version of the AIM-120B (with a launch range of 70 km).
From this we can conclude that the Rb 99 is the main air-to-air missile for the Swedish Air Force, and it is for this basic air combat distance (i.e., approximately 70 km) that the combat training of Swedish Gripen pilots was designed.
To further illustrate, it is worth mentioning the following example: in 2015, China conducted joint exercises with the Thai Air Force, including training battles between Chinese Su-27SK and Thai JAG 39 Gripen, which lasted 4 days, as Defense Express reported in a separate publication.
As the results of these training battles showed, during clashes at distances of over 30 km and over 50 km, the Gripen had an undeniable advantage, but in close-range battles, it was the Su-27SK that had the upper hand. Although it happened 8 years ago, these results are still evident for Ukraine today. At least because they demonstrate that the JAS 39 Gripen is much more effective than even the Soviet Su-27, not to mention the less powerful MiG-29.
But all of the above also demonstrates that in the case of a Gripen transfer to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, expectations should be built within a very narrow range: replacing Soviet fighters and strengthening our air defense capabilities.
