Air superiority under NATO doctrine: experts explain how Sweden’s ASC 890 aircraft will boost Ukraine's air defenses and F-16 fighters

On May 29, Sweden presented its 16th and largest military aid package to Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion began. 

The USD 1.3 billion aid packaged included two ASC 890 aircraft, Sweden’s Defense Minister Pal Jonson said at a press conference in Stockholm.

The ASC 890, also known as the Saab 340, is an Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft with a big radar above the fuselage. It can monitor for airborne threats such as drones, missiles and aircraft hundreds of kilometers away, providing Ukraine capabilities equivalent to Russia's A-50 planes.

ASC 890s will significantly expand the capabilities of Ukraine's air defense, aviation experts say, and list several options for how the Swedish aircraft will be used. First of all, it is about constant monitoring of the Ukrainian sky.

Read also Sweden boosts Ukraine's aviation: Defense Express on donation of ASC 890 radar aircraft

Renowned military analyst Agil Rustamzade, who was a fighter jet pilot of Azerbaijani Air and Air Defense Force, thinks that it is about establishing air superiority under the NATO doctrine.

“The F-16s will be deployed to Ukraine with a set of missile weapons and additional weapons and military equipment systems necessary for air operations to establish air superiority according to the NATO concept,” Rustamzade said.

The expert believes that, under such conditions, the redeployment of even 12 aircraft to Ukraine can greatly reduce the number and effectiveness of missile and bombing strikes by Russian aviation.