Sweden considers letting Ukrainian pilots try out Gripen fighter jets

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden’s defense minister says the Nordic country is considering whether to let Ukrainian pilots test its JAS 39 Gripen fighter jets. So far, Sweden has ruled out sending any Gripen fighters to Ukraine, saying it needs them for its own territorial defense. But Defense Minister Pål Jonsson said Thursday that Sweden was looking with a “positive spirit” on a request to allow Ukrainian pilots to try out the Swedish plane. Ukraine has long asked for Western fighter jets to help it resist the full-scale Russian invasion, now in its second year. Initially reluctant, the U.S. and other NATO countries are now working on plans to let Ukrainian pilots receive training to fly F-16 fighters, though none has yet committed to hand over any planes.