Ukrainian company “Fire Point” plans to create a low-cost alternative to the Patriot system by 2027. To this end, it is already negotiating with European companies.
This was told to Reuters by “Fire Point” co-founder and chief designer Denys Shtilerman.
The goal is to reduce the cost of intercepting a ballistic missile to less than a million dollars.
"If we can get that down to less than $1 million, it will... be a game changer in air defense solutions. We plan to intercept the first ballistic missile in late 2027," Stilerman told reporters in an interview.
Patriots are now key systems for shooting down ballistic missiles, but they are expensive to deploy. It often takes two or three missiles to destroy a single target, each costing several million dollars.
In addition, access to these systems is becoming more difficult due to high demand, particularly due to their active use in the Middle East.
Stilerman also said that Fire Point is currently in the final stages of developing two supersonic ballistic missiles. The smaller FP-7, with a range of about 300 km, will be deployed for military purposes for the first time “in the near future”.
The larger FP-9, capable of carrying an 800-kilogram warhead up to 850 km, will soon begin testing and put Moscow within reach of Ukraine’s ballistic arsenal, he added.
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