Comment on An often overlooked Swedish fighter may be the jet Ukraine needs to take on Russia now, experts say

A Swedish JAS 39 Gripen E over Gotland Island in the Baltic Sea on May 11, 2022.TT News Agency/Henrik Montgomery via REUTERS The Saab JAS 39 Gripen fighter jet has earned high marks for its capabilities and affordability. But buyers have often passed on the Gripen in favor of other jets, including the US-made F-35. The Gripen's mix of capabilities make it "by far the most suitable" for Ukraine, three experts say. As Russia's beleaguered air force continues to launch attacks in Ukraine, Kyiv finds itself in need of air assets, including new fighter aircraft.The best jet for Ukraine is the Gripen, a 4.5th-generation multirole fighter jet built by Sweden's Saab and which is "by far the most suitable candidate in terms of operational requirements," according to Justin Bronk, Nick Reynolds, and Jack Watling of the Royal United Services Institute, a British think tank.Ukraine needs a fighter with missiles that offer "the greatest possible effective range under low-altitude, subsonic launch conditions" in order to bypass Russian air defenses, including its S-400 missile system, which can target Ukrainian jets at higher altitudes, the three experts said in a recent report.A Saab JAS 39C Gripen jet during an air show in June 2011.Thomson ReutersThe Gripen can carry the Meteor air-to-air missile, which is effective in those conditions thanks to its ramjet design and has a 100 km range, allowing it to be fired from safer distances.