Just a few days after announcing the signing of a Letter of Intent with Sweden to move forward with the acquisition of up to 150 Gripen E fighters, Ukraine is now reportedly also evaluating the possibility of adding Dassault Rafale aircraft to equip its Air Force — a move that would significantly advance the modernization of its combat aviation. The news was confirmed by President Volodymyr Zelensky himself, who recently held a press conference with local media to report on progress made in this regard. Although he focused primarily on the Swedish aircraft, he also hinted at the French proposal.
Quoting some of his own statements: “I am holding three parallel conversations about aircraft: with the Swedes, the French, and the Americans.” In a later segment, the president elaborated by stating that the list under consideration included the previously mentioned Gripen E and Rafale aircraft, as well as the F-16s already operated by the Ukrainian Air Force thanks to the various donations from Kyiv’s European allies. It is also worth recalling that, in France’s case, there already exists an important link following the delivery of its older Mirage 2000-5 fighters, which are already participating in frontline missions.
During the same occasion, the Ukrainian president emphasized that the fighters to be acquired by his Air Force must stand out for offering affordable maintenance, compatibility with all types of weaponry currently available to the institution, and the ability to operate from different types of runways to provide flexibility to strategists. In the case of the Gripen E, Zelensky indicated that all these conditions are well met — an important advantage for the platform, which has been under evaluation by Ukrainian technicians for a long time.
In his own words once again: “When we still didn’t have the F-16, we had already started looking for tools to use Western weapons on our Ukrainian, Soviet-made aircraft. It took us months, since we couldn’t use the existing missiles because there were no such mounts. And it was difficult. But our engineers worked on it together with engineers from the countries that possess the weapons. So, as for the Gripen, everything is connected to it. Probably, almost everything Ukraine uses — missiles and other weapons — can be connected to it.”
On the other hand, although the number of platforms to be acquired to complement the previously mentioned 150 Gripen E has not been specified, the president gave an important clue on the matter by stating that, as of now, there is a demand for a total fleet of 250 aircraft. This would initially leave a gap of 100 fighters that could be filled by the French Rafales or the American F-16s — or even by a combination of both.
*Images used for illustrative purposes.
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