Sweden to send Gripen jets back to Poland for NATO air policing
Sweden's government said its Gripen fighters will again help guard Poland's airspace from October, a two-month mission responding to repeated NATO airspace violations.
Sweden will send Gripen fighter jets to help protect Polish airspace from October, in a two-month NATO air-policing mission announced by the Swedish government on Wednesday. Defence minister Pål Jonson said the deployment responds to a difficult security situation and repeated violations of NATO members' airspace.
The Gripens will operate mainly from the Blekinge air base in southern Sweden, with only a small forward presence kept in Poland, Swedish armed forces said. Pilots will report to NATO's air operations centre in Uedem, Germany, allowing the jets to be folded into the alliance's surveillance and response network on the eastern flank.
Jonson said the contingent's task is to strengthen NATO's integrated air and missile defence, and that the aircraft will also help protect a logistics hub in south-eastern Poland through which military support for Ukraine passes. Swedish prime minister Ulf Kristersson said the deployment builds on years of close cooperation with Nordic, Baltic and Polish partners.
Sweden's foreign minister, Maria Malmer Stenergard, said Poland is a key link in the supply chain for aid reaching Ukraine, and that the Gripen deployment shows Sweden is ready to take responsibility for security in its neighbourhood.
It is the second time Swedish fighters have helped guard Polish skies. Gripens previously flew a similar mission from April to August 2025, operating out of Malbork and helping protect a logistics hub near Rzeszów, in south-eastern Poland. That deployment was Sweden's first of its kind since joining NATO in 2024, the last country so far to join the alliance.
Several dozen Swedish air force personnel who took part in the earlier mission received Polish Armed Forces Medals at Poland's embassy in Stockholm in early September, in recognition of their role guarding Polish airspace and the Rzeszów logistics hub.
What we know
- Sweden's Gripen jets will run a two-month NATO air-policing mission over Poland starting in October.
- The jets will operate mainly from Blekinge air base in southern Sweden, with a small forward presence in Poland.
- Pilots will report to NATO's air operations centre in Uedem, Germany.
- The mission will also help protect a logistics hub in south-eastern Poland used to move military support to Ukraine.
- Sweden ran a similar deployment from Malbork between April and August 2025, its first such mission since joining NATO in 2024.
Why it matters for Europe
The mission follows a string of airspace violations and drone incidents that have put NATO's eastern members on heightened alert this year, and it protects one of the main logistics corridors through which Western military aid reaches Ukraine. Poland's south-east, near Rzeszów, has repeatedly been the target of official concern because of its role in that supply chain.
Sources
Reported by 2 reports from 2 independent outlets in 2 countries.
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Questions and answers
- When does Sweden's Gripen mission in Poland start?
- In October, running for two months as part of NATO's air-policing programme.
- Where will the Gripens be based?
- Mainly at Blekinge air base in southern Sweden, with only a small forward presence kept in Poland.
- Has Sweden done this before?
- Yes. Gripens flew a similar mission from April to August 2025, Sweden's first since it joined NATO in 2024.
This article was written with AI assistance from 2 verified reports and checked under the ECTV editorial policy. Spotted an error? Request a correction.