Zelensky: Ukraine Needs Up to 250 Fighter Jets to Re-equip Its Air Force

Ukraine needs up to 250 new fighter jets to modernize its Air Force’s combat aviation, President Volodymyr Zelensky stated, according to Ukrinform.

He noted that three parallel negotiation tracks are currently underway concerning the potential supply of combat aircraft.

Three types of fighter jets have been selected to renew Ukraine’s combat aviation fleet: the F-16, Gripen, and Rafale.

“I am holding three parallel discussions about aircraft – with the Swedes, the French, and also the Americans,” Zelensky reported.

The Ukrainian Air Force’s development vision up to 2035 envisaged the need to procure up to 108 new combat aircraft.

In 2023, Yurii Ihnat, Head of the communications department of the Air Force Command, stated that under this vision, Ukraine would need approximately 128 new aircraft for peacetime operations.

From Zelensky’s remarks on the need for 250 new multirole fighter jets, it follows that the military leadership has revised its aircraft requirements upward.

This is driven by Russia’s ongoing aggression against Ukraine and the necessity of having modern combat aircraft in its arsenal that can fight the aggressor.

Zelensky also noted today that during negotiations in Sweden, an agreement was reached on the localization of Gripen fighter jets in Ukraine.

“Gripen maintenance is the cheapest because it requires the fewest personnel. For our pilots with the proper qualifications and experience, training takes not a year and a half, as it did with the F-16s, but six months. The Gripen’s technical capabilities for takeoff and landing are also advantageous – as you know, they can take off and land on highways,” Zelensky stated.

According to the Head of State, it is also important that Gripen fighter jets are well-suited for weapons use.