Ukraine has tested a missile for the domestic anti-ballistic system Freya.
Air defense (illustrative photo) / © Associated Press
The Ukrainian company Fire Point has already tested a missile for the new Freya air defense system. This interceptor was checked at maximum speed and during sharp maneuvers. When the system will be able to shoot down ballistic missiles now depends only on how quickly European partners transfer their technologies.
This was reported by the co-founder and chief designer of the company Fire Point, Denys Shtilerman, in an interview with LIGA.net.
What is known about the Freya air defense system
According to him, this project could become a faster and cheaper analogue of the American Patriot system. However, to complete it, Ukraine needs foreign technical documentation for radars, seeker heads, and data links. Currently, intergovernmental approvals are in the final stage.
“Our entire bureaucratic apparatus is moving very quickly now. It’s an oxymoron, but it’s true. And everyone understands the importance of this project. It took a year to get started, and now we are running. A memorandum with a bunch of countries has now been signed. The last memorandum was signed by the defense ministers of Germany and Ukraine. And this is the basis for them to start transferring some technical documentation of radars, regarding seeker heads, regarding data links. And we have started integrating it into our interceptor,” said Denys Shtilerman.
The designer added that European defense companies have also started to react quite quickly. At the same time, he noted that the pace of development of the anti-ballistic system could be affected by the summer vacation season in the West due to their lifestyle.
When will the Freya air defense system be operational in Ukraine
Regarding the readiness period of the system, Shtilerman explained: if everything depends only on Ukrainian developers with the Ukrainian ballistic missile, then in the Freya project, the main thing is cooperation with partners. Until Ukraine receives foreign documents, it is impossible to name exact dates, as European parts will likely need further refinement.
Assessing the potential targets for the future air defense system, the chief designer expressed the opinion that the system is being developed primarily to counter Russian “Iskanders”.
“It probably makes no sense to intercept ‘Kinzhal’, because they don’t hit anywhere. We see that they cannot hit the ‘Starkon’ airfield, and it is a sufficiently large airfield. But against ‘Iskanders’, it is a sufficiently slow missile, and everything will depend on the warhead and radars,” summarized Denys Shtilerman.
Ukraine needs missiles for Patriot — latest news
We remind you that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine urgently needs missiles for Patriot air defense systems, as Russia is trying to break Kyiv’s resistance with constant ballistic strikes.
During a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, US President Donald Trump stated that the United States is ready to grant Ukraine a license to produce interceptor missiles for Patriot systems.
Also, the advisor to the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Serhiy Beskrestnov, with the call sign “Flash,” positively assessed the prospects for establishing the production of interceptor missiles for American Patriot air defense systems in Ukraine after US President Donald Trump’s statement about the readiness to grant Ukrainian manufacturers a corresponding license.
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