Ukraine’s top guns need new jets to win the war

YOUR CORRESPONDENT often travels by air for work. But rarely does this involve skimming at low altitude over the summer homes that dot Sweden’s Baltic coastline, breaking the sound barrier and taking the controls of a Gripen fighter jet for several rolls and loops. In the cockpit, next to the pilot, wisely out of your correspondent’s reach, is a small switch that allows the Swedish plane to be pushed to its limits. It is set to “peace”. The flick of a finger would toggle it to “war”. It feels particularly resonant.