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Sweden will send an ASC 890 aircraft to Ukraine in a $1.23 billion aid package.
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The airborne aircraft increases Ukraine’s range against airborne and maritime targets.
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Sweden will also include tanks, artillery ammunition and more in its aid package.
Sweden will supply an ASC 890 early warning and control aircraft to Ukraine, boosting its warning system and range, as part of the $1.23 billion aid package announced on Wednesday.
Pål Jonson, Sweden’s defense minister, said the aircraft will provide Ukraine “a new capability against both airborne and maritime targets.”
With the ASC 890 contribution, Jonson added that Ukraine’s “ability to identify targets at long range will be strengthened.”
The ASC 890 aircraft, also known as the Saab 340, is an Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft equipped with a large radar that looks like a fin mounted above the fuselage. It can scan for aerial threats up to 400 kilometers away, giving Ukraine a capability comparable to the A-50 AEW&C aircraft that Russia has used to operate its air defenses and fighter jets.
The ASC 890 can operate alongside F-16 fighter jets, National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems and other air defense systems and act as a “force multiplier” by spotting targets and routing them to armed aircraft or missile batteries on the ground.
According to Jonson, the aircraft’s radar will also be able to detect drones and cruise missiles.
Belgium pledged on Tuesday to send thirty American F-16s to Ukraine over the next four years, provided they are not flown over Russia. Other countries have promised Ukraine a total of about 85 F-16 jets.
Sweden and other allies such as the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway have also pledged to send F-16 jets from Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has emphasized that the contribution of F-16s will help strengthen Ukraine’s position. Future missions to defend Ukraine’s airspace or attack ships in the Black Sea could be guided by targeting data relayed by an ASC 890.
Ukraine is currently tasked with defending its lines as Russia has bombarded them with deep strikes.
Sweden also plans to supply Ukraine with armored personnel carriers, advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles and artillery ammunition, along with other assets, as part of its largest aid package to date.
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