Nine European countries have officially joined the Anti-Ballistic Coalition.
Kyiv • UNN
Ukraine initiated the creation of the Integrated Coalition for Missile Defense, which nine European countries have officially joined. The coalition will work on building the pan-European anti-ballistic shield Freyja.
Nine European countries have officially joined the Integrated Coalition on Missile Defense (Anti-Ballistic Coalition), the creation of which was initiated by Ukraine, UNN reports, citing the declaration on the establishment of the coalition.
The declaration, in addition to Ukraine, was signed by the leaders of Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
In the document, the leaders recognized the growing ballistic threat and "the importance of defense capabilities for the security of the European continent." The leaders announced the start of creating an exclusively defensive coalition on missile defense.
"We express our support for its flagship project, which should work at a rapid pace on the development of missile defense capabilities," the declaration reads.
All the above-mentioned countries became founding members of the coalition.
"We believe that the defense of Europe requires a global solution of an integrated missile defense architecture to deter and overcome future missile threats — developed through collective efforts, technological openness, and trusted industrial cooperation. It will complement existing missile defense systems, including sovereign European solutions already purchased or to be purchased by participating countries," the declaration reads.
Recall
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy is on an official visit to Paris on July 13. Earlier, he announced a meeting of the "anti-ballistic coalition," which will be 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 the 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 the 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 essentially 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 of 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 defense ministers 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 an 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 should ensure the integration of Freyja into the existing air defense system of Ukraine and other European countries.