According to the spokesman of the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Yuriy Ignat, Ukraine is already leasing air defense equipment. Information regarding the type, quantity, and even with which countries the relevant agreements were concluded - defined as non-disclosureable.
But in this situation, the very mechanism of such a lease can be even more interesting. Because in theory, this means that countries can give up some of their air defense equipment for a certain time, for example, at least for the winter period. On the one hand, this is a rather convenient mechanism for the donor country, because on the one hand, it allows to provide aid, and on the other hand, to avoid the mandatory need to replace the provided weapons.
Land lease
In history, there have already been large-scale examples of the transfer of weapons for rent - this is a well-known lend-lease during the Second World War. And although it seems that the only recipient of it was the USSR, in fact the first recipient was Great Britain in March 1941, then in April - China, and only then in October - the USSR.
And the largest recipient in monetary terms was Great Britain with a mark of 31.3 billion dollars at the time (approximately 600 billion taking into account inflation from the period 1941-1945), against 10.9 billion for the USSR (approximately 200 billion taking into account inflation).
And under the terms of the lend-lease, the payment terms were within five years after the end of the war, while under the first terms it was necessary to compensate for the value of all weapons and other goods that were transferred, either in the form of a return with depreciation compensation, or the full value, if weapons were destroyed or are not transferred for other reasons.
At the same time, the fact that the lend-lease provided only for payment for surviving weapons is a myth. And in practice, the USA in 1945 generally announced that they would not take money for the transferred weapons in general, both for the destroyed and for the surviving ones. As for other Lend-Lease aid, the USA provided long-term formal loans, but on the condition of joining the UN and recognizing the dollar as an international currency.
And the reason for the appearance of the myth is quite simple - the USSR did not want to pay for Lend-Lease at all, although Washington only asked to pay for civilian products worth 2.6 billion dollars. And only 27 years later, Moscow paid the bill, reduced to $722 million.
As for Ukraine, despite the fact that the "Lend-Lease" law for Ukraine was never launched, the USA has already handed over $44 billion worth of weapons free of charge without any financial conditions.
The modern history of arms leasing
And the most famous transfer of arms for rent in modern history is the Swedish Gripen. In 2003, the Czech Republic and Hungary took, initially, a 10-year lease of 14 Gripen fighters at a price tag of 800 and 700 million dollars. Also, the lease payments were broken down into annual payments, taking into account exchange rate differences and inflation, and the agreements have already been extended several times.
But such excellent conditions existed precisely at that time, because the Swedish air force was then halved and about 100 aircraft were released at the same time. And there was only one alternative to their export in any form, even on rental terms - to spray. And the situation was also successfully used by Thailand, which also leased the Gripen.
Such conditions became a certain business card for Saab, and long-term lease terms were offered to Malaysia in 2021 for 25 fighters at once and two more GlobalEye anti-aircraft defense aircraft in addition. But probably the conditions are not so chic anymore, because Malaysia has chosen 18 Korean FA-50 for 920 million dollars with the transfer of the first aircraft in 2026.
And in November 2022, information appeared that Bulgaria also intends to lease fighter jets . At the same time, among the options was not only Gripen, but also the French Mirage 2000 and Rafale.
That is, the mechanism of leasing arms as a whole exists and is practiced. And what exactly is leased, a fighter or an anti-aircraft vehicle, under which there can be not only an air defense system, but also means of detecting targets, no longer makes a significant difference. Because the very essence of the lease agreement in the form of temporary use of the property with the obligation to return it or compensate the value in case of loss remains unchanged.
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