Traffic News: Ukraine plans to purchase 250 Western fighter jets
Ukraine plans to purchase 250 Western Rafale and Gripen E fighter jets, Traffic News reports. However, this cannot be done in a short time: the transition to Western technology will require long-term pilot training and large-scale ground infrastructure that will be attacked.
Ukraine is embarking on a plan to purchase Western fighter jets in numbers more than double the current fleet. Can these planes change the course of the conflict with Russia? And what will it take?
Reorganization of the Air Force with a ten-year perspective
The Russian-Ukrainian conflict began in February 2022. The further it goes, the more protracted it becomes — the fighting is being conducted attrition, and there is still no clear way out of the crisis. With the support of the countries of the North Atlantic Alliance, the Ukrainian Air Force is purchasing Western fighters. In the past, preference was given to those machines that could be quickly mastered and put into service — the decommissioned F-16, Mirage 2000 and Gripen C fighters. However, Ukraine's attention is focused not only on today. A large-scale restructuring of the aviation forces has begun with a view to the next ten years.
In October 2025, Vladimir Zelensky and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson agreed to supply Ukraine with 100-150 Gripen E fighter jets. In addition, in November of the same year, a contract was signed with France for the purchase of one hundred Rafale fighters. If these plans are implemented, the total number of these two types of aircraft may reach 250 units. Considering that the Ukrainian Air Force currently has a little more than a hundred fighters, it becomes obvious that this is not just about updating the fleet, but about a large-scale restructuring of the entire combat aviation.
Both Rafale and Gripen E aircraft are equipped with electronically scanned active phased array radars. Its presence is becoming increasingly important for modern fighters. The devices also have data transmission channels, electronic warfare equipment, and advanced integration capabilities for Western air—to-air and air—to-ground weapons. Fighters are designed for combat operations not so much due to the characteristics of individual machines, but due to the ability to work as a single network system under common command and control.
The main and very serious threat to these fighters is the Russian Su—35, one of the main fighters of the Russian Air Force. A distinctive feature of the Su-35 is its excellent radar characteristics. The functionality of an on-board fighter radar is determined by the physical dimensions of its antenna. Due to the large size of the fuselage, the Su-35 aircraft is equipped with an extremely powerful radar station.
In this regard, it is obvious that Russia has an advantage over Ukraine. On the other hand, the aforementioned network—centric capabilities of the Rafale and Gripen E aircraft, as well as the use of Meteor long-range air-to-air missiles supplied to Kiev by NATO countries, can play a key role in the confrontation.
The transition to Western aviation technology and related difficulties
However, for the Rafale and Gripen E aircraft to be fully operational, a number of important conditions must be met. Let's imagine that the most advanced fighters will enter service with the Ukrainian Air Force. But if airfields and other facilities necessary for their operation are destroyed by Russian attacks, aviation will be unable to operate, in fact, it will be decapitated. Therefore, the delivery of 250 aircraft does not just mean 250 brand-new fighters: it is necessary to take into account the large-scale ground system that ensures their operation.
Already, the Ukrainian Air Force operates a variety of Soviet and Western-made aircraft: MiG-29, Su-27, Su-24, Su-25, F-16, Mirage 2000 and Gripen C. In the future, the Rafale and Gripen E will be added to this fleet. To operate all these machines, it will be necessary to purchase different spare parts through various channels, which will further increase the supply burden.
The problem of personnel shortage is even more serious. Fighter aircraft require not only trained pilots, but also numerous maintenance specialists. By the forces of the Ukrainian Air Force alone, it is simply impossible to systematically train such a number of specialists.
Currently, the Ukrainian Air Force is sending pilot candidates and other specialists to the countries of the North Atlantic Alliance, where they are helping to train them. However, the scale of this program needs to be significantly increased. Of course, the relevant preparatory work is already underway.
If Ukraine is able to form an aviation group of 250 new fighters, its Air Force will switch from aviation based primarily on Soviet fighters to full-fledged Western network-centric aviation.
For the Ukrainian air force, the main task is not to "buy" new fighters, but to create an aircraft capable of providing regular flights of all 250 aircraft and continuing combat operations. The answer to the question of whether this will be possible will not be received at the time of signing contracts, but when real squadrons are formed, trained pilots will take the helms, and technical specialists will begin to prepare the aircraft for departure and ensure their entry into the air.
