After the agreements between President Volodymyr Zelensky and France, Ukraine officially speaks about the future fleet of European fighters Rafale and Gripen. It is not about ready contracts, but about plans to purchase these aircraft in the perspective of the mid-2030s.
This was discussed in the podcast “Difficult Questions” where Yevhen Buderatsky asked the officer of the Air Force reserve, the Deputy CEO of a company producing electronic warfare systems, aviation expert Anatoliy Khrapchynskyi.
Fighters for Ukraine: cost and operation
Experts emphasize: the purchase of an aircraft is only about 30% of all expenses over its 37-year service life. The rest accounts for fuel, maintenance, modernization, and disposal.
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Rafale: approximately 400 million dollars per aircraft for the entire life cycle; flight hour about 20 thousand dollars.
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Gripen: about 240 million dollars for 37 years; flight hour about 12 thousand dollars, this is one of the cheapest in operation of modern fighters.
Gripen is designed as a «workhorse» for the war with Russia: the engine can be replaced in the field in about an hour, refueling and reloading take just minutes, it can be based on highways.
Rafale requires more advanced infrastructure, but offers greater potential as a heavy multipurpose aircraft.
Fighters for Ukraine: armament and role on the front
Both types can use modern precision weapons. Gripen can carry up to 5 tons of payload, Rafale — up to 9.5 tons. They can integrate:
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air-to-air missiles Meteor with a range of over 200 km;
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guided bombs and air-to-ground missiles (SCALP/Storm Shadow, HAMMER, JDAM, Taurus for new Gripen versions).
Rafale has a more powerful onboard radar, allowing it to detect targets earlier, while Gripen relies on connections with long-range radar detection aircraft that form an «air radar» for the entire group.
In the future, Ukrainian Rafale and Gripen are expected to compel Russian Su-30 and Su-35 to retreat from the launch ranges of the R-37M missiles, which currently work against our aircraft from distances over 200 km.
At the same time, both France and Sweden are limited by production rates: Gripen produces about 12 aircraft per year, Rafale — 3-5 aircraft per month, and France already has a queue of export contracts for nearly 300 aircraft.
Therefore, for Ukraine, this is about a long-term vision: European fighters will become the foundation of the Air Force after the Soviet MiGs and Su’s, as well as F-16 and Mirage have exhausted their resources.
Earlier, we reported that Ukraine will receive 100 Rafale fighters and air defense missiles.