Swedish Fighter Jet Crashes After Bird Strike

Library image showing a Swedish JAS-39 Gripen prepares to take on fuel during an exercise (Picture: US Air Force).

A Swedish jet fighter has crashed in southern Sweden, apparently after striking a bird.

Sweden's Armed Forces said on Tuesday that the pilot of the Swedish-built JAS 39 Gripen fighter jet ejected safely after the bird strike.

He has been taken to a nearby hospital for checks.

Sweden, although part of the EU, is not in NATO. 

The plane crashed near Karlskrona, 99 miles east of Malmo, Sweden's third largest city.