Following the May 28 announcement that Sweden will donate 16 older-generation Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine, industry experts say one key detail of the transfer will determine the aircraft's immediate impact on the war with Russia.The aircraft donation “may consist of” advanced ammunition including Meteor missiles, according to the Swedish government.Those long-range air-to-air missiles, “would be needed to hold Russian fighter jets like the Su-34 at risk,” Christoph Bergs, an airpower analyst at the UK's Royal United Services Institute told RFE/RL.Russian Su-34 fighter bombers routinely launch glide bombs that sail 60-100 kilometers to hit Ukrainian territory. The cheap aerial weapons have proven difficult to stop and immensely destructive.
A Russian glide bomb photographed mid-flight in July 2024.
Missiles in Ukraine’s current aerial arsenal do not have the range to target Russian bombers without venturing into “dangerous layers of long-range [Russian] air defense around the front lines,” Bergs says.Meteor missiles, which have a range of more than 100 kilometers may give Ukraine the ability to push the risk boundary for Russian pilots back beyond the range of glide bombs.Whether or not Meteor missiles are supplied with the Gripens, it is assumed the aircraft will also be used to track and shoot down Russian missiles and drones such as Iranian-designed Shaheds. Stockholm says the jets will be delivered by early 2027.
