Russia will not seriously consider peace until Ukraine has enough missiles to shoot down ballistic missiles. While the Freyja antiballistic shield project is still under development, Ukraine needs missiles for American Patriot air defense systems. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this, UNN writes.
"Unfortunately, while Moscow is investing in ballistic missiles and escalation, the world does not always respond appropriately to such strikes. And as long as Ukraine has insufficient antiballistic capabilities, Russia will not seriously consider peace. We are doing everything to ensure protection, and work on the Freyja program is ongoing every day," Zelenskyy reported.
According to him, American interceptors for Patriot air defense systems cannot yet be replaced, and Ukraine needs them every day.
"Every additional missile saves the lives of our people. I thank everyone who understands this and seeks and finds opportunities to help," the head of state emphasized
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Fire Point CEO and CTO Iryna Terekh said during the DALO Industry Days arms exhibition, which is taking place in Denmark, that Freyja is currently at the stage of integrating all components into a single system and conducting tests.
"Right now, we have begun the most interesting part of Freyja's development from an engineering standpoint—technical integration of the entire ecosystem, together with the radars, the launcher, the data transmission channel, and the command center," she said.
According to her, tests are conducted up to twice a week, after which adjustments are made to the system.
The project to create a joint European antiballistic shield, Freyja, officially began on July 13, when Ukraine and nine other European countries signed the declaration of the Antiballistic Coalition. At that time, 12 defense companies joined it, including HENSOLDT, Thales, Diehl Defence, Saab, Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace, Weibel, Leonardo, MBDA, Eurosam, Safran, and Destinus.
The Freyja project, which is intended to provide interception of Russian ballistic missiles, is being built around the FP-7.x interceptor missile developed by Fire Point; other system components are being provided by European defense companies.
As reported by UNN, according to Fire Point co-founder and chief designer Denys Shtilerman, the involvement of European governments, including the German government, has significantly accelerated the implementation of Freyja. Provided that bureaucratic procedures in the partner countries move quickly, the first FP-7.X interceptor missiles could be ready by the end of 2026. Fire Point plans to carry out the first interception of a ballistic target by the Freyja system by the end of 2027.
At the beginning of August, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that new partners were planning to join Freyja.