Ukraine wants to produce an alternative to the Patriot system. “This will be a breakthrough”
Introducing a new system to the arms market is the plan of Fire Point, the manufacturer of, among others, Ukrainian Flamingo cruise missile. The company is conducting talks on possible cooperation with European companies. The new system, which could partially replace the American Patriot, would be launched next year.
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The availability of the Patriot system is decreasing
As Fire Point co-founder and chief designer Denys Shtilierman told Reuters, the main goal is to reduce the cost of intercepting a ballistic missile. The American Patriot system, commonly used for this purpose, requires additional high investments. According to Shtilierman, producing the new system would reduce the cost of such an operation to less than $1 million.
– If we can make it smaller [koszt przechwycenia rakiety] to less than USD 1 million, it will be a breakthrough in air defense solutions – he said in an interview with Reuters. — We plan to intercept the first ballistic missile at the end of 2027, he added.
Ukraine and many other Western allied countries rely heavily on the US Patriot system. However, according to Reuters, it is not only expensive to use, but its availability is decreasing, among others. as a result of being deployed to the Persian Gulf against Iranian attacks. In turn, the only European anti-ballistic system – the Italian-French SAMP/T – is produced in relatively small quantities.
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For Fire Point, like many Ukrainian defense companies that have seen the war with Russia as a driving force for innovation, Europe's military push and the war in the Middle East are an opportunity to cash in on the global boom in military spending. However, any proposed agreement is subject to rigorous review and approval by states.
Shtilierman declined to name the European companies involved in talks to develop the new system, but said Fire Point was “deeply interested” in cooperation on radar, missile guidance systems and communications — areas in which it lacks expertise.
