A Swedish Radar Aircraft Was Spotted Over Ukraine

It is already carrying out combat missions.

A Swedish ASC 890 radar surveillance aircraft has been conducting combat missions over Ukrainian territory since March 2026. This was officially announced by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.

It is noted that Sweden announced the transfer of the aircraft back in May 2024—at the time, it was the 16th and, to date, the largest military aid package to Kyiv, valued at approximately $1.25 billion. Ukraine confirmed the transfer itself in August 2025, and the aircraft began conducting combat sorties approximately seven months later.

The publication Defence Blog emphasizes that traces of the aircraft’s presence in Ukrainian airspace appeared even before the official announcements. As early as March 20, 2026, a Russian Telegram channel published a video allegedly showing this aircraft in level flight, with Ukrainian speech audible in the background. However, neither the exact date the video was filmed nor the location at that time could be confirmed.

As it turns out, the ASC 890 is based on the Saab 340 regional jet and is easily recognizable by the distinctive rectangular fairing above the fuselage—also known as the “balancer.” Inside is an Erieye radar with an active phased array antenna, capable of detecting aircraft and ships at distances of up to 450 kilometers, typically operating at an altitude of about 20,000 feet. According to available information, the aircraft’s crew consists of six people, including a mission control officer, a combat control operator, and a surveillance operator.

In fact, according to the authors of the review, this aircraft functions as both a flying radar station and a command post. It is capable of detecting Russian aircraft, cruise missiles, and drones long before ground-based radars “spot” them, and then transmitting this data to Ukrainian fighter pilots.

Prior to the transfer, as the publication’s data indicates, Sweden had two such aircraft in service—and, apparently, both were sent to Ukraine, temporarily leaving the Swedish Air Force without its own aerial surveillance until replacements arrive. Swedish military officials, commenting in the spring of 2025 on rumors of delays, explained: part of the delay in delivery was due to the refinement of data-link systems so that the aircraft could “communicate” with Ukrainian F-16s.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense notes that the ASC 890 is integrated into a large-scale air defense system based on Western fighter jets. At the core of this network are the F-16s transferred in 2024 by Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, and Belgium, while some of the pilots are undergoing training at a training center in Romania.

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