Sweden is deploying its Gripen fighter jets on a NATO air defense mission for the first time.
The jets were designed to fight Russia and are now set to be used in Polish skies.
Sweden joined NATO in response to Russian aggression, specifically the invasion of Ukraine.
NATO’s newest member is deploying a fighter jet that is designed for a fight with Russia to protect alliance borders for the first time. Sweden’s armed forces said six of the country’s JAS 39 Gripen fighter aircraft landed at an air base in Malbork, Poland, on Wednesday to join an alliance airspace surveillance mission. NATO said this was the first time Sweden’s combat aircraft had participated in the alliance’s “enhanced Air Policing mission” from within another ally’s airspace since it joined in March 2024. It previously took part in NATO air policing missions only over its own territory, as only a partner nation. Sweden, along with its neighbor Finland, broke with decades of neutrality to join NATO, citing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as its motivation for seeking membership. That was an unintended effect of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s brutal war, a stated reason for which was to limit the expansion of the NATO alliance. Both Sweden and Finland built their militaries with a threat from Russia in mind, and the Gripen was one such project. The jets, made by the Swedish aerospace and defense company Saab AB, were specifically built to counter Russia. The commander of Sweden’s air force at the time, Mats Helgesson, said in 2019 that the Gripen was “designed to kill Sukhois,” a type of Russian jet.
Gripens can function from civilian roads rather than expensive runways at fixed airfields that can be targeted. Russia has targeted that kind of infrastructure during the war. It also requires less maintenance than some other aircraft, like the US-made F-16s that are widely available in a number of NATO arsenals. Michael Bohnert, a warfare analyst at the RAND Corporation, said the Gripen’s flexibility made it “much better for a country that’s bordering an aggressor.” Poland, which borders Ukraine to the west, sees itself very much as a frontline NATO ally. Warfare experts, for these reasons, point to the Gripen as the best available fourth-gen fit of all NATO aircraft for Ukraine. Sweden has not pledged any, though it has explored the idea.
Pål Jonson, Sweden’s defense minister, told Business Insider last month that he was “having a dialogue” with Ukraine and other countries in the Air Force Coalition, a group of allies committed to helping Ukraine. He said it’s “more challenging for the Ukrainians to absorb another fighter.” Ukraine has already received American-made F-16 and French Mirages, so Sweden, the defense minister said, had been advised to focus on sending airborne sensor platforms that could provide command and control support.
Despite the praise these jets receive, Sweden’s Gripens haven’t seen the type of combat they would in Ukraine. Nor have they experienced what they would face in a Russian war against the NATO alliance.
Europe braces for more Russian aggression
But Europe is preparing for such a scenario. Watching the invasion, much of Europe, particularly the countries closer to Russia like Poland and Sweden, is preparing for the prospect of a conflict with Russia. Many NATO allies are increasing defense spending and manufacturing, forging defense agreements, and holding larger NATO exercises. Poland and Sweden are among Ukraine’s biggest international partners and are among the countries warning the loudest that Russia could attack elsewhere in Europe. Last year, Sweden gave citizens a booklet that advised them how to prepare for war, and its defense minister warned that even though Russia’s forces were “tied up in Ukraine,” Russia “poses a threat to Sweden, as it does to the rest of NATO.” He said Sweden “cannot rule out a Russian attack on our country.”
Poland has also given warnings, including its foreign minister saying he would not be surprised if Russia attacked his country. The two countries are among NATO’s biggest spenders on defense. Poland spends the highest proportion of its gross domestic product on defense of any member, including the US, and Sweden exceeds the 2% of GDP on defense guideline that NATO set. Sweden’s Gripen jets will be deployed in Poland from April along with some of the UK Royal Air Force’s Eurofighter Typhoons, NATO said. NATO describes its “enhanced Air Policing mission” as a peacetime mission that was introduced in 2014 after Russia illegally annexed the Crimea region of Ukraine.
The alliance said its airpower efforts since 2014 were designed “to demonstrate the collective resolve of Allies, demonstrate the defensive nature of NATO and deter Russia from aggression or the threat of aggression against NATO Allies.” With the Trump administration shaking long-standing alliances, certain allies have questioned plans to buy F-35s. Aircraft like the Gripen or the Eurofighter Typhoon could become much more important. There’s an opportunity for European defense companies, but it creates a problem for European countries, as there are fewer of those jet types available and their production, at least for now, is slower.
