Zelenskyy to discuss defense export deal with Saab in Sweden – media
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, during his visit to Sweden on Wednesday, will visit the Swedish defense group Saab together with Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson to discuss a possible export deal, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
According to the publication, Saab is a manufacturer of the JAS 39 Gripen fighter jet, the GlobalEye reconnaissance aircraft, missile systems, anti-tank weapons for infantry and other equipment.
"We will discuss a major possible Swedish export deal," Kristersson told Swedish radio.
Kristersson later told public broadcaster SVT he and Zelenskyy would be "looking at one of the world's absolute best fighter jets," but stopped short of saying whether a Gripen deal was on the day's agenda.
The possibility of supplying Gripen aircraft to Ukraine has been under consideration for the past two years, but it was postponed so that Kyiv could focus on American F-16 fighters, which began deploying in Ukraine in August 2024. However, Ukrainian pilots were in Sweden to test Gripen aircraft and facilitate their possible export.
A Saab spokesperson said it was a big day for the company. "It shows that there is a strong belief in the competence and ... capacity that Saab has in the area of fighter planes," he said.
