Flight International - 04

Ukraine Fighters
Research indicates that Ukraine has
lost 16 Su-25s since the conflict began
Endre Karpati/Shutterstock
fighter operations now being staged in Ukraine, owing
to Sweden’s emergency road basing concept. NATO
members the Czech Republic and Hungary each have
14-strong Gripen fleets, while Sweden has almost 100,
plus 60 new-generation Gripen Es on order.
NATO expansion
While it would seem highly unlikely that Stockholm
would consider depleting its own air force strength at
a time of heightened Russian aggression, both it and
neighbouring Finland also are yet to join NATO. Their
accession protocols have so far secured approval from
28 member states, with Hungary and Turkey yet to
sign off on their addition to the alliance – an expansion
that would be completed at a proposed record pace.
Ultimately, however, a decision on supplying
fighters could come down to the USA, which today
provides the largest amount of assistance to Ukraine
in equipment volume and monetary terms, having so
far pledged support worth more than $31 billion.
In the nearer term, Ukraine could indeed
potentially field additional combat aircraft – but
of the same kind that it already operates. With
MiG-29s departing the fleets in Poland and Slovakia,
such a transfer could help Kyiv to maintain critical
operating mass for now, while longer-term measures
are prepared.
But even that would fall short of giving the nation
the equipment boost it needs to help propel it
further on the path to victory and freedom.
Hellfire-armed Gray Eagle could provide
Kyiv critical ‘information dominance’
country, obtaining satellite bandwidth and providing
additional supporting labour – are outside our
control,” Blue notes.
In addition to providing extended intelligence,
surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, both
US Army
the MQ-1C and MQ-9 are able to carry weapons
including Lockheed Martin AGM-114 Hellfire air-tosurface
missiles.
“Factoring in hardware and training that is
essentially free, the offer is a remarkable deal, with
no strings attached,” Blue says of the company’s
proposal. “All that is required is approval from the
US government.
“Our goal is now, and has always been, to help the
Ukrainian armed forces defend and protect their
homes and families, and help bring a rapid closure
to this conflict before more lives are lost,” he says.
“Our estimates for launch and ongoing operations
do not include one penny of profit to our company.”
US President Joe Biden’s administration has
already supplied Kyiv with a large number of
smaller UAVs, including 15 Boeing Insitu ScanEagle
systems, hand-launched AeroVironment Pumas
and the same company’s Switchblade loitering
munitions, as well as Aevex Aerospace Phoenix
Ghost systems.
April 2023 Flight International 77