Encapsulated as part of its sixteenth, and largest to date, military assistance package to Ukraine, the Swedish government confirmed the transfer of a Saab 340 AEW&C early warning and control aircraft to the Ukrainian Air Force. The announcement was made today by the Swedish Ministry of Defense, stating that, in addition to the aircraft, the package will include armored vehicles, artillery ammunition, and additional maintenance and support services.
The provision of this military assistance package comes amid various setbacks that Ukraine has been facing in the military field, with advances by Russian Ground Forces in the eastern part of the country with a renewed offensive. The Ukrainian Armed Forces have had to deal with shortages of ammunition and various materials, as well as troop replenishment, while Western allies delayed approval of assistance packages for months. As the critical situation reached a breaking point, the positions of European and American governments changed, approving various types of assistance packages through their legislatures and congresses.
In the case of Sweden, it has provided a wide range of military equipment to Ukraine in the past. These include infantry combat vehicles CV90, Leopard 2A5 tanks (Stridsvagn 122), and Archer artillery combat vehicles, to which various types of missiles must be added. However, this represents the first occasion where the Swedish government has decided to transfer aircraft from the Air Force.
Named ASC 890, the Saab 340 AEW&C is an aircraft that performs surveillance, early warning, and airborne control missions for the Swedish Air Force. Equipped with a radar from Saab’s Erieye family, it has a considerable target tracking capability with a detection range of between 300 and 400 kilometers.
The Swedish Ministry of Defense has confirmed that the transfer of this aircraft, a true force multiplier and early detection asset, signifies a reduction in the surveillance and airborne control capabilities of the air force. However, alongside the announcement of the new assistance package, the Ministry of Defense of the Nordic country confirmed that they will place additional orders for GlobalEye AEW&C aircraft, which will be added to the current contract with Saab.
It is worth noting that earlier this year, the local company was progressing with the manufacture of the first GlobalEye aircraft destined to equip the Swedish Air Force. This was evidenced by the arrival of a Bombardier Global 6000 aircraft at the Linköping facilities, where it will undergo conversion work to the mentioned airborne control and early warning platform.
In total, based on the contract signed in June 2022 for a value of $741 million, Saab will provide the force with two GlobalEye aircraft, a request that will be expanded soon with the mentioned additional units produced due to the transfer of the Saab 340 AEW&C to Ukraine.
However, the assistance package valued at over one billion Euros consists of more equipment, services, and ammunition. Among these, the provision of armored personnel carrier vehicles PBV 302 stands out, which have been stored since their decommissioning in 2014 by the Swedish Army, replaced by modern CV90 (strf 9040). The transfer includes the entire stock of remaining units, along with their spare parts, tools, and logistical support services. Finally, in terms of ammunition, the Swedish government added the provision of 155mm artillery ammunition, as well as AMRAAM AIM-120 missiles, designated as RB 99-AMRAAM by the Swedish Air Force.
*Photographs used for illustration purposes.
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