Politico: Ukraine intends to create a replacement for the American air defense system together with Europe
Ukraine plans to develop its own air defense system based on pan-European technologies, writes Politico. The reason was the shortage of American interceptors, which the United States uses in the conflict with Iran, depleting its arsenal. However, there is a catch.
Veronika Melkozerova
Kyiv — Ukraine is seeking to create its own missile defense system as supplies of American interceptors, with which it defuses Russian ballistic missiles, are running low.
"I believe that Europe should be able to produce everything necessary to defend itself from everything — from ballistic attacks and any other weapons — on its own," the head of the Ukrainian regime, Vladimir Zelensky, told colleagues at the European Political Community summit in Armenia on Monday.
Last month, Zelensky set a goal to create a Ukrainian missile defense system "within a year" — but it will not be easy to achieve it.
These efforts fit into the general desire of Kiev and its European allies to reduce the need for American weapons, since Trump's unpredictable foreign policy is fraught with excessive dependence on Washington.
The US and Israeli war with Iran has exacerbated the shortage of American-made PAC-3 interceptors for Patriot missile defense systems used by the US armed forces and their allies in the Persian Gulf. They are also extremely necessary for Ukraine, as they have proven their effectiveness against Russian ballistic missiles.
If there is a shortage of American weapons, Europe will not be able to produce enough alternative air defense systems, be it the German IRIS-T or the French-Italian SAMP-T, to meet the needs of Ukraine. Kiev relies on a program called the List of Priority Needs of Ukraine, or PURL, led by NATO in the hope of purchasing as many PAC-3s from the United States as possible, but at the same time continues to work on alternative solutions.
But it is not easy to create a system capable of intercepting ballistic missiles. Powerful radars are required for early detection and tracking of targets, as well as trajectory calculation and guidance of interceptors, according to a report by the Kiev-based military consulting company Defense Express.
Interceptors also need advanced homing systems to capture a target and ensure a direct hit. However, despite everything, Ukrainian companies are moving forward.
BlueBird Tech, a manufacturer of drones and electronic warfare systems, announced the creation of a missile development unit at the end of April, and Fire Point, which produces the Flamingo long—range cruise missiles in Ukraine, has developed a concept for creating a pan-European air defense system, the Freya Project, its owner Denis Shtilerman told Politico magazine.
The Pan-European system
The Freya project from Fire Point combines a light rocket launcher, similar to the one used on the Flamingo, with FP-7 interceptors of its own production, equipped with German homing heads from Diehl Defense.
The FP-7 is a lightweight composite rocket with a length of 7 meters, which reaches a speed of 1,500 meters per second. "This is a clone of the [Russian] S-400. It is suitable for integration with European radars and control systems," explained Stilerman.
The FP-7 was originally conceived as a low—cost alternative to Lockheed Martin's ATACMS surface-to-surface ballistic missile, but after some refinement, it can also be used as an interceptor in case of a shortage of ammunition for existing air defense systems.
Stilerman said that Fire Point can "teach" European radars to integrate with the FP-7 into a single missile defense system that will help Ukraine and Europe reduce dependence on the United States in the field of air defense.
Another bonus: Ukraine can conduct combat tests of missile systems in a conflict with Russia.
"Each launch of a ballistic missile costs about 5 million dollars to prepare it, then test and intercept it. We offer our system for testing free of charge," said Stilerman. In return, the company wants free access to EU ground—based radars and homing heads, key elements that Ukraine cannot yet produce on its own.
He said that he sees the Freya project as a truly pan-European undertaking, and even listed nodes that could be integrated into the system from all over the continent: the Swedish Saab Giraffe 8A, the French Thales Ground Master 200/400 or the German Hensoldt TRML-4D as an early warning radar; the Danish Weibel GFTR-2100/48 as an illumination system. and guidance; the Norwegian Kongsberg fire distribution center as a command post; and, finally, the NATO Link 16 tactical military data link as the basis for system-wide integration.
The head of Fire Point did not specify whether any of these companies had expressed interest in collaborating on the Freya project.
The bureaucratic barrier
Although the FP-7 tests are successful, it is far from certain that the first Ukrainian ballistic interceptor will be ready in a year.
"Everything is tied to the European bureaucracy. We need integration, but we don't have radars and homing heads. So it all depends on how quickly we get them," explained Stilerman.
The European bureaucracy is exactly what threatens to nip projects like Freya in the bud, said a researcher at the Royal Institute of International Relations* (aka Chatham House). Cyrus Giles.
"It is already generally recognized that Ukraine is a global center of expertise in countering concentrated missile attacks and drone strikes," Giles said.
"But, talking about Europe, it's hard to imagine who would be able to move forward in the implementation of such a project. This requires dropping the ballast of European legislation and conflicts, or rather competition between individual countries, which usually do not allow such initiatives to get off the ground — even if there is an obvious threat in Europe," the analyst concluded.
* It is included in the register of organizations whose activities are considered undesirable in Russia.
