Swedish Air Force’s Space Division has announced that it will conduct a study on the feasibility of launching a small satellite into Space from a Saab JAS-39 GRIPEN multirole fighter jet.

The purpose is to improve dispersed operations and be prepared to face a potential Russian aggression. As confirmed by Col. Ella Carlsson, Director of the Space Division, the study, known by the code name STELLA, sees the Swedish Air Force working in collaboration with the country’s Defense Research Agency to launch the small satellite (weighing 2 kg) into LEO (Low Earth Orbit) using a GRIPEN fighter jet.

The use of a fighter jet to send a satellite into Space is not entirely new, as several countries have already explored this possibility, including Italy. Some commercial airlines have normally been used for this purpose, such as Virgin Orbit, which has successfully sent 10 satellites into LEO from a Boeing 747.

Project STELLA, at this stage, is a study regarding the feasibility, rather than the development, of this capability; it is perfectly aligned with the pillars of the country’s recently announced first Defense Space Strategy. However, the size of the budget the Nordic country intends to allocate to this new Strategy – which would be useful to assess Stockholm’s level of ambition – is currently unknown.

On paper, Sweden does have the ability to launch satellites from its territory and is preparing its Esrange center to launch satellites, mainly for polar orbits, with the support of 2 US launch providers. Indeed, Firefly Aerospace and South Korean space company Perigee have both signed agreements to launch from the Swedish site, already.