STOCKHOLM, Oct 19 - Sweden’s Saab JAS 39 Gripen, a high-tech fighter developed during the Cold War with the Soviet Union, could be about to see hot conflict with Moscow for the first time, POLITICO reported.

Over recent weeks in Sweden, the center-right government has been gently preparing the ground for a potential deployment of the aircraft to Ukraine following announcements by European neighbors Norway, Denmark, Belgium and the Netherlands that they plan to send Lockheed Martin F-16 jets to Kyiv.