Most European companies involved in implementing the Freyja antiballistic program are working on the project according to Ukrainian timeframes — 24/7. CEO of leading Ukrainian defense company Fire Point Iryna Terekh said this during a panel discussion at the MSPO International Defence Industry Exhibition in Poland, as reported by UNN correspondent.
Iryna Terekh said that she had returned from Oslo the previous day, where a meeting of the steering committee was held with the companies participating in the Freyja project. Such meetings are held regularly to coordinate work at a high level.
"It is a kind of information update at a very high level. And what I particularly like is that most of the participants in the Freyja project are European companies. They work according to Ukrainian timeframes. So, to answer the technical question, 24/7 — they are very committed to this work," she said.
According to her, Freyja is a priority project, since intercepting ballistic missiles is one of the greatest challenges in the defense industry. Iryna Terekh emphasized that the project's level of ambition is extremely high, but that its implementation is possible.
"Is it easy? No. But is it possible to do? Absolutely, yes. Because we have the best people on the ground to create an independent European antiballistic shield," the Fire Point CEO said.
Iryna Terekh also recalled that Freyja would operate according to somewhat different principles compared with a conventional air defense system. In particular, the system will not have a kill switch, that is, a remote shutdown capability; it is to be interoperable and not dependent on a single supplier. According to her, Freyja is being built on a "Lego" principle, which will allow different manufacturers to join the project and integrate their components.
"This requires an open architecture, a common protocol, and the sharing of intellectual property so that none of the participants has the ability to shut down the program. We also do not want to depend on one particular supplier. And we also expect to have at least two options for each critically important subsystem to ensure its compatibility and replaceability," she added.
To add
Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy together with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre held a meeting with the heads of defense companies from partner countries dedicated to implementing the Freyja antiballistic program. The meeting was attended by the heads of the defense companies FirePoint, Kongsberg, Weibel, Saab, Diehl Defence, Hensoldt, Thales, Safran, Sener, and Leonardo. The parties agreed on what exactly leaders and government officials should do at their level, while manufacturers and developers should do at theirs.
What is Freyja
Freyja is a Ukraine-initiated project for a joint European antiballistic system, the first track of the Antiballistic Coalition, which comprises 10 countries and more than a dozen leading European defense companies. The system is intended to ensure the interception of Russian ballistic missiles.
The project is being built around the Ukrainian FP-7.x interceptor missile developed by Fire Point, while other components are supplied by European manufacturers. As Fire Point General and Technical Director Iryna Terekh told UNN, development has reached the stage of technical integration of the entire ecosystem — radars, the launcher, the data transmission channel, and the command center — while tests are being conducted up to twice a week. The system's first interception of a ballistic target is scheduled for 2027.