Flight altitude of 25 kilometers: Financial Times reveals new details about the Ukrainian Patriot analogue
Kyiv • UNN
The FP-7.x interceptor reached an altitude of 25 km during testing. The missile is designed to be fast enough to intercept ballistic missiles.
The FP-7.x ballistic interceptor missile reached a flight altitude of 25 kilometers during a recent test, which is comparable to the performance of the Patriot system. This is stated in an article by the Financial Times, reports UNN.
Denys Shtilerman, co-owner and chief designer of Fire Point, said that during tests of the Ukrainian FP-7.x ballistic interceptor missile, it reached an altitude of 25 kilometers. The missile is designed to be fast enough to intercept ballistic missiles.
According to the FT, the company estimates the cost of the missile at $700,000, compared to $3.8 million for a Patriot PAC-3 missile. A feature of the Fire Point missile is that the FP-7.x, using radar guidance in the final stage of flight ("the last mile"), switches to an infrared thermal homing head.
According to Shtilerman, mass production of the missile could begin in August, provided that the infrared homing head is supplied, which Fire Point hopes to receive from the German company Diehl Defence. Full-scale use could begin by 2027. As the publication points out, production of three missiles per day is expected.
The FP-7.x is planned to be used in the Freya air defense system, which European partners are expected to join in creating. The article does not disclose which European countries plan to participate in the implementation; however, UNN previously reported that Germany, France, Norway, and Sweden confirmed their participation in the public space. According to the FT, Fire Point has held talks with Germany's Hensoldt and Thales regarding radars, Italy's Leonardo regarding tracking and target detection radars, and Norway's Kongsberg regarding command and control technologies.
The completion of this (the creation of the air defense system - ed.) depends on the speed of our Western partners,
Empty launchers: can Ukraine close the deficit of Patriot missiles28.05.26, 14:52 • 56422 views
The FT points out that the American defense conglomerate Lockheed Martin produces hundreds of interceptors per year for the Patriot system, but most of the production goes to replace stocks used during the war with Iran. In Ukraine, stocks of PAC-2 and PAC-3 are rapidly depleting due to constant Russian attacks.
"Can we count on 'Patriots'? I don't think we can," the publication quotes former Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. He also adds that the situation around Iran indicates that the US will first replenish its own arsenal.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy also complained about the decrease in Patriot missile deliveries "due to the war in the Middle East." This is precisely what is pushing the development of European anti-missile capabilities.
Tom Karako, a missile defense expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, emphasizes that the FP-7.x could complement Ukraine's air defense arsenal, which includes old Soviet systems, American Hawk missiles, and modern German IRIS-T interceptors and Patriot systems.
"When you have a full spectrum of threats, you need many different tools," Karako said.
The most difficult part of developing missile defenses, according to defense consultant Mark Lange, is that they are hard to test.
"Only a large amount of operational use and engineering work can help lift this curse," he said, adding that Ukraine "has both the gift and the curse of constant Russian ballistic missile attacks, which is one of the factors that can help compress the timeline."
Fire Point is already demonstrating success in the rapid development and launch of projects: FP-1 long-range drones that attack Russian oil refineries, the FP-2 medium-range strike drone widely used to destroy Russian logistics routes, and the FP-5 Flamango, which struck a plant in Cheboksary. Experts point out that these missiles are able to take advantage of weak radar coverage in Russia due to the country's size.
The rapid pace of production in Ukraine compared to Western countries has largely been made possible by a war economy that accelerates military production.
Today, we probably have the least bureaucratic approach to manufacturing anything in the aerospace industry,