The presentation of the Anti-Ballistic Coalition with the participation of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has started in Paris, UNN reports, citing The Guardian.
The first meeting – a discussion of Ukraine's missile defense strategy, which Zelenskyy mentioned earlier today – is currently underway in Paris
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President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy is on an official visit to Paris today, July 13, where a meeting of the "coalition of the willing" is expected. He also announced that a meeting of the "anti-ballistic coalition" will take place, dedicated to the creation of the European anti-ballistic shield FREYJA, initiated by Ukraine.
As the President noted, he tasked Ukrainian arms manufacturers with creating a cheaper analogue of Patriot that could be mass-produced.
Currently, the Ukrainian arms manufacturer Fire Point has created the FP-7.x interceptor missile, which has already been tested at maximum accelerations and maneuvers it can perform to intercept ballistic targets. The cost of this missile is about 700 thousand dollars per unit, compared to 3.8 million dollars for one American missile for Patriot.
The Pan-European anti-ballistic shield Freyja was initially conceived as one that would unite European partners. As stated by the co-founder and chief designer of Fire Point, Denys Shtilerman, the key difference of the Freyja project is its independence from external control. He explained that modern Western air defense systems often operate in a closed architecture format, where the supplier country or manufacturer, in fact, retains control over critical elements of the system. It is expected that the project's architecture will be implemented in such a way that new partner countries can easily join it.
Representatives from various European countries have already expressed interest in the joint implementation of such a large-scale concept. In particular, agreements have already been officially signed between the Ministers of Defense of Ukraine and Germany. As noted by Shtilerman, these agreements open the way to obtaining technical documentation for various components of the future anti-ballistic system.
In addition, Fire Point recently signed an agreement with the German radar manufacturer Hensoldt. From open sources, it is also known that in addition to German long-range detection radars, the system will likely also include an illumination and guidance radar Weibel GFTR-2100/48 or Leonardo KRONOS Land. The command post is expected to be based on the Norwegian Kongsberg Fire Distribution Center system. One of the key features of the system will be its open architecture and the use of Network Access Nodes modules, which will allow the integration of additional solutions and components.
Data exchange between all elements of the complex will be carried out via the tactical Link 16 channel, standardized according to STANAG 5516. It is this protocol that is intended to ensure the integration of Freyja into the existing air defense system of Ukraine and other European countries.