Stockholm’s selection of a new-generation tactical airlifter will be a government decision, says Swedish air force chief Major General Jonas Wikman, who also has disclosed limited details about the service’s acquisition of air-launched cruise missiles.
“We have done the evaluation and given our view. It is going to be a political decision,” Wikman says of the long-running process to replace the nation’s current Lockheed Martin C-130Hs. The service has assessed the US manufacturer’s J-model Hercules and Embraer’s C/KC-390, and “both platforms will cover my needs”, he adds.
“I am expecting a decision quite soon,” Wikman says, while noting: “we already have some shortfalls in our capability and availability”. The service’s inventory includes five C-130H transports with an average age of 43 years, plus one KC-130H tanker introduced in 1969.
Meanwhile, he reveals that the Swedish air force is already advancing a project to integrate standoff-range cruise missiles with its Saab Gripen C/D fleet.
“That has been decided, we are funded and we are procuring that capability,” he says. He declines to identify the weapon type involved, but a likely lead candidate for the Gripen is the Taurus KEPD 350 missile, which has a range greater than 226nm (500km).
Speaking in London on 21 July, Wikman also discussed Sweden’s ongoing equipment support to Ukraine, which will soon see both of its Saab 340 Erieye airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) system aircraft donated to Kyiv.
“We will do that in cooperation with the [Lockheed Martin] F-16 [transfer] programme,” he says, while adding: “that is a combination that will have an effect for Ukraine”.
“A lot of effort will go into training for air operations and Link 16 operations – the things that will make the [AEW&C] assets really valuable,” he says. “This is a big thing for us and for Ukraine.”
Sweden recently completed its first deployment of the Saab 340-based ASC 890 system as a NATO member, sending one of its aircraft to Keflavik air base in Iceland, coinciding with the alliance’s annual summit in Washington DC.
Stockholm recently ordered a third replacement Saab GlobalEye multi-domain surveillance aircraft for the Swedish air force, and announced plans to accelerate the Bombardier Global 6000-based type’s introduction from an original target of 2026.
Wikman also says that a previously discussed potential donation of some Swedish Gripen C/Ds to Ukraine “is still an option at the political level that is being evaluated continuously”.
“If we were to support Ukraine with Gripen it would be a long-term solution… it wouldn’t be a one-time gift,” he notes.
European NATO members Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway have collectively committed to gifting the Ukrainian air force 97 surplus F-16s, with operations due to commence “this summer”, according to alliance leaders speaking at the recent summit.
