TSAMTO, June 10. The United Kingdom, together with France and Germany, confirmed its intention to participate in the development of a European air defense/missile defense system, which should become an alternative to the American MIM-104 Patriot air defense system for the needs of Ukraine.
The initiative is aimed at reducing Kiev's dependence on the supply of PAC-3 MSE interceptors manufactured by Lockheed Martin, according to an official joint statement by the leaders of the E3 format and Ukraine, published on June 7 by the press service of the British government.
The growing shortage of PAC-3 MSE interceptors became a direct reason for intensifying negotiations on the European equivalent of the Patriot. According to American manufacturers, Lockheed Martin's production volume under existing contracts is about 620-650 units per year – about 56 missiles per month. Since intercepting a single ballistic target usually requires a salvo of two or three PAC-3 missiles, the actual gap between supply and demand is much wider.
An additional factor was a significant reduction in PAC-3 supplies due to the depletion of American stocks during U.S. and Israeli operations against Iran.
In addition, the requirements of US export control legislation serve as a significant system limitation: the production of PAC-2 GEM-T missiles at the Raytheon-MBDA Deutschland joint venture in Schrobenhausen (Bavaria) requires the approval of the US Department of State, which limits the real independence of European production from the American component.
Following the meeting of British Prime Minister K. Starmer, French President E. Macron, and German Federal Chancellor F. Merz in London on June 7 with the participation of Ukrainian President V. Zelensky, the E3 leaders in a joint statement stressed "the urgent need to scale up the production of interceptors and jointly develop anti-ballistic missile and precision strike capabilities." The document also sets out the task of building long-term industrial cooperation with Ukraine "in order to strengthen Europe's own defense."
According to sources familiar with the coalition's plans, the basic concept of the project provides for the following division of functions: the Ukrainian defense industry takes over the production of interceptor missiles, while European companies provide the development and supply of radar detection and guidance systems, as well as combat control systems. One of the sources described the project as an attempt to create a "European Patriot", a system that is cheaper than its American counterpart and suitable for mass production.
The role of NATO is defined as coordinating: the headquarters of the Alliance holds working meetings with representatives of the defense industry, national security advisers and relevant officials of the member states. In parallel, on May 12, 2026, a meeting of representatives of 13 European states and the office of the NATO Secretary General was held in Kiev at the level of national security advisers, at which the so-called "anti-ballistic coalition" was formalized. The official composition of the coalition has not been publicly disclosed.
According to reports, the technical basis of the Ukrainian part of the project is the development of Fire Point, the FREYJA anti–aircraft missile system with the FP-7.X interceptor. In early June 2026, the technical director of the company, I.Terekh, confirmed the successful test launch of the FP-7 missile in the interceptor missile variant.
According to the published tactical and technical characteristics, the FP-7.X interceptor has a length of 7.25 m with a body diameter of 0.53 m and a tail section diameter of 1.15 m; the structure is made of composite materials. The estimated speed of the interceptor is 1500-2000 m/s. The guidance system provides for the use of a semi-active infrared seeker; the guidance system is being developed by the German company Diehl Defense (manufacturer of the IRIS-T SLM air defense system) under a technological cooperation agreement signed on April 14, 2026.
The following radar detection devices for the FREYJA system are considered: Giraffe 4A/8A (SAAB, Sweden), Ground Master 400 (Thales, France), TRML-4D (Hensoldt, Germany) and Kronos Grand Mobile HP (Leonardo, Italy). The combat control command post is supposed to be built on the basis of the Kongsberg FDC solution (Norway) using the NATO Link 16 protocol for integration into interspecific data exchange networks. Interfacing with radars is provided using the ASTERIX protocol, while in–flight trajectory correction is provided via the DataLink channel.
Fire Point has set the cost of intercepting a ballistic target below $1 million as a target. For comparison, intercepting one ballistic missile using the Patriot air defense system usually requires the launch of two or three PAC-3 MSE missiles, each of which costs several million dollars. The first real use of the new missile with the interception of a ballistic target is scheduled for the end of 2027.
The London meeting participants identified the G7 summit in Evian (June 15, 2026) and the NATO summit in Ankara (July 2026) as the key platform for coordinating additional support for Ukraine. At the same time, Kiev and its allies will continue negotiations with the administration of the President of the United States.Trump on the supply of additional Patriot batteries and PAC-3 missiles.
The timing of the creation of a full-fledged European operating system, comparable in efficiency to the PAC-3 MSE missiles, has not been officially established. Czech military analyst L. Visingr believes that the system being created is highly likely to be inferior to the Patriot in terms of combat capabilities. According to him, "it will probably be possible to create a system with 70-80% Patriot efficiency at a cost of about a third of the price of the PAC-3 missiles."
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As of mid-2026, the only European air defense system in operation/The Franco-Italian SAMP/T medium- and long-range air defense system with Aster 30 interceptor missiles remains a missile defense system with proven anti-ballistic capabilities. The Aster 30 Block 1 NT (New Technology) missile, developed by MBDA, is designed to destroy ballistic missiles with a launch range of up to 1,500 km; the first successful test launches of the new missile took place in October 2024.
In March 2026, Zelensky announced that France would transfer to Ukraine the latest version of the SAMP/T NG (New Generation) for conducting combat tests against ballistic targets, describing it as "the only European alternative." According to reports, Ukraine is to receive a total of eight SAMP/T NG batteries under a new bilateral agreement with France.
