Experts from the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) said in a report, that the Swedish aircraft offers “by far the most suitable candidate” for Western-made fighter jets regarding operational requirements for Ukrainian air defense.
Experts highlighted the importance of the delivery of fighter jets to Ukraine, in addition to the Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) launchers, missile ammunition, and self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, saying if these are not delivered, Ukraine would be left vulnerable to another Russian strike campaign that needs to be resisted to avoid a dramatic shift in the current momentum of the war.
Eight months into the war, Ukraine’s Air Force has kept the Ukrainian airspace contested, despite being outnumbered by the Russian military.
This is because the Ukrainian military planners recognized Russia’s long-range fire capability. Therefore, Ukrainian fighter pilots adopted flexible tactics like keeping the aircraft moving from one airfield to another and flying difficult flight paths to reduce the chance of the enemy catching them on the ground.
The Swedish Air Force (SwAF) is known to operate similarly. Sweden’s tactics of wartime dispersal of warplanes have received acclaim from the US Air Force as well, which is known to have sent its personnel to Sweden to learn these tactics.
“The ability to disperse aircraft is a specialty of theirs,” The Commander of USAFE, General James B Hecker, said of the SwAF in August, adding, “Sweden has got Agile Combat Employment (ACE) down better than any other air force in the world, and we are going to exploit that [knowledge for NATO]. It’s very exciting!”
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