An aviation expert explained why the Swedish Gripen aircraft are better than the F-16

The aviation fleet of the Defense Forces has recently been replenished with Western-style fighters. The first F-16s are already performing combat missions in the sky over Ukraine. At the same time, other Western aircraft would also be useful for more effective resistance to Russian shelling, especially in front-line cities.

We are talking about the Swedish Gripen fighters, the characteristics of which were compared with the F-16 for 24 Kanal by the deputy general director of the enterprise for the production of EW equipment, aviation expert Anatolii Khrapchinskyi. He noted that it is optimal to use different equipment for different tasks.

Advantages of Grippen

According to the aviation expert, Swedish fighters have a number of advantages over American ones. First of all, due to the peculiarities of the aircraft design. This allows the Grippen to take off and land in confined spaces.

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“Certainly, the Grippen is good because it can take off from a strip 500 meters long. Whereas a loaded F-16 would need a strip 800 to 1,200 meters long,” – noted Khrapchynskyi.

Advantages of F-16

At the same time, the military expert noted that the presence of Swedish fighters will require German TAURUS missiles, which Chancellor Olaf Scholz stubbornly does not want to hand over. While for the American F-16s, the necessary long-range weapons can be supplied to the Defense Forces.

For the F-16s, there can be JASSM missiles, which are capable of operating at distance from 400 to 950 kilometers. And it could be exactly the missile that the president spoke of as a non-nuclear deterrent,
– noted the aviation expert.

So, according to Anatoly Khrapchynskyi, the F-16 fighter still looks more effective for the strategic tasks of the Defense Forces, while for combat operations on the frontline, the Grippen could be of high quality addition to the aircraft fleet.