The UK Ministry of Defence has welcomed Sweden\u2019s role in brokering a new fighter jet deal to supply Ukraine with Gripen aircraft. The deal is intended to strengthen Ukraine\u2019s defence against Russia\u2019s illegal invasion while supporting more than 5,000 UK jobs.<\/p>\n
Under the arrangement, 16 Swedish Gripen aircraft will be urgently gifted to Ukraine. Ukraine will also purchase 20 new Gripen aircraft through an EU support loan to help build its future air force capacity.<\/p>\n
The UK said the deal will support Ukraine\u2019s ambition to build a strong air force that is interoperable with NATO allies. It said the aircraft will provide Ukrainian forces with modern, agile and highly capable multirole air combat platforms.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Defence said the aircraft will significantly strengthen Ukraine\u2019s air power. It also said the deal will bolster NATO supply chains and resilience across the Alliance.<\/p>\n
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The Gripen programme involves collaboration between the UK, Sweden and the United States. Companies across the UK supply critical components for the aircraft, including radar and landing gear.<\/p>\n
The UK Ministry of Defence said more than 30% of each aircraft is manufactured in the UK. At least 50 British-based companies, from Saab UK in Fareham to Leonardo UK in Edinburgh, are expected to be involved in the deal.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: \u201cThis deal shows what British industry can achieve on the world stage \u2013 supporting thousands of jobs from Yeovil to Edinburgh while helping to deliver the air power Ukraine needs to defend itself against Russia\u2019s illegal invasion.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBy standing with our allies and backing Ukraine, we are securing real benefits for British workers and businesses. This is our international partnerships working for Britain,\u201d Starmer said.<\/p>\n
Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry Luke Pollard said the UK would continue to support Ukraine as Russia\u2019s aggression continues. He said Britain would work with Ukraine and NATO allies such as Sweden to bring together industrial capacity in support of Kyiv.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the fierce resistance of the Ukrainians continues, and as Russian aggression grows, the UK will not waver. We will stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine and our NATO Allies like Sweden, bringing the combined power of our industries to bear to support the fight against Putin\u2019s illegal war,\u201d Pollard said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis deal is both a big boost for Ukraine\u2019s air power and a show of confidence in our world-leading UK defence industry, supporting thousands of good British jobs here at home. This is the UK stepping up as one for Ukraine: our government, our military and our industry,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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The UK said it continues to play a leading role in international support for Ukraine. This includes training for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, expertise sharing and billions of pounds per year in military equipment support, including 120,000 drones this year.<\/p>\n
Combined military support from the UK and Sweden since Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion in February 2022 now stands at \u00a311.4 billion. The UK said the Gripen deal reflects close cooperation between London and Stockholm.<\/p>\n
The UK and Sweden share a defence and security partnership based on Joint Expeditionary Force and NATO membership. The partnership also reflects a shared commitment to security in the Baltic Sea region and the High North.<\/p>\n
Last summer, a squadron of Swedish Gripens deployed to Poland alongside the Royal Air Force for NATO air policing. The UK said this showed the practical defence cooperation between the two countries.<\/p>\n
The UK and Sweden also have a record of defence industrial collaboration, including Gripen export successes in Colombia and Thailand. Saab is investing \u00a3100 million in its Fareham site in the UK.<\/p>\n
BAE Systems also has a long-standing presence in Sweden through BAE Bofors and BAE H\u00e4gglunds. The UK said this cooperation helps drive the next generation of defence and maritime technology by combining Swedish and British innovation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The UK Ministry of Defence has welcomed Sweden\u2019s role in brokering a new fighter jet deal to supply…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":609630,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[59,57,58,50,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-609629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-kingdom","tag-gb","tag-great-britain","tag-greatbritain","tag-news","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/609629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=609629"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/609629\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/609630"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=609629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=609629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=609629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}