Through the publication of a short video on social media, Russian troops have revealed what would be the first indication that the Ukrainian Air Force is already operating its first Saab 340 AEW&C, a platform transferred by Sweden as part of a military assistance package. The material in question was first published on a Telegram account, although without any description indicating when or where it was captured, which initially raised doubts regarding its authenticity.
Expanding on the details, it is worth mentioning that the images show an aircraft equipped with the characteristic radar of the Saab 340 AEW&C on top of its fuselage, which could be clearly observed as the aircraft was flying during the day and at relatively low altitude. Although there has been no official confirmation from Kyiv regarding the incorporation of this type of aircraft, Western analysts have already pointed out that this type of appearance would indicate that the platform has been operating over Ukrainian skies for some time, also including a series of previous reports that showed the trajectory toward the country of an aircraft with similar characteristics identified under the name “WELCOME” on publicly accessible tracking platforms.
It is useful to recall at this point that Sweden committed Saab 340 AEW&C aircraft to equip the Ukrainian Air Force in 2024, as part of a donation included in a package valued at approximately 1.25 billion dollars. Once this was confirmed, it was also necessary to consider a training period of around one year that Ukrainian pilots had to undergo, which in turn had to be accompanied by work on base facilities to accommodate these units.
By March 2025, officials from the Swedish Ministry of Defence also indicated that they were waiting for the fleet of F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters donated by Western allies to Ukraine to receive the corresponding modifications in order to operate with the Saab 340 AEW&C, without providing details in terms of timelines. Quoting some of their statements at the time: “The delivery dates of the ASC890 (Ed.: the Saab 340 AEW&C) are linked to when certain modifications to the F-16 fighter will be ready (…) We are working according to the original schedule, but for security reasons we will not report when and where certain actions have been or will be carried out.”
Beyond these aspects, it is important to highlight that the arrival of this new platform represents a significant leap in capability for the Ukrainian Air Force, which had never operated airborne early warning and control aircraft. As its main asset, the aircraft features an advanced AESA radar Saab Erieye radar capable of detecting air and ground targets at distances of up to around 450 kilometers, while also being able to track approximately 1,000 potential aerial threats simultaneously and up to 500 on the surface.
As such, the aircraft and its radar provide Ukraine’s air defense networks with a significant capability to detect missile and drone attacks such as those frequently carried out by Russia, thus overcoming the limitations that mountainous terrain can sometimes pose for ground-based radars—especially when threats fly at low altitude. In this way, the Saab 340 AEW&C could consolidate itself as the “eyes” of fleets of fighters such as the F-16 Fighting Falcon and Dassault Mirage 2000 (and potentially also Saab JAS 39 Gripen), commonly used in interception missions, being capable of prioritizing those that represent the greatest threat.
*Images used for illustrative purposes.
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