Ballistic missiles remain the only air threat from Russia that Ukraine is not fully protected from so far. Moreover, constant Russian attacks require several times more interceptor missiles than it currently has.
Ukraine has begun work on creating its own interceptor missile. President Zelensky says that the "Freya" project is a way for Ukraine to strengthen its defenses and create a reliable shield over all of Europe. An international anti-ballistic coalition is already being formed around it, the first meeting of which took place in Paris on July 13. The coalition includes nine NATO countries, and Ukraine is to become its coordinator. The manufacturer of the anti-ballistic missile - the Ukrainian company Fire Point - promised that it would be ready by 2027.
The step to develop anti-ballistic defense is really necessary, emphasizes the editor-in-chief of “Defense Express” - military expert Oleg Katkov. Moreover, the step should be taken not only by Ukraine, but also by European countries - given that Russia produces more ballistic and hypersonic missiles than can be intercepted by the “Patriot” systems. Therefore, any decision aimed at increasing the means of anti-ballistic defense must necessarily receive the status of a national priority.
Combination of Ukrainian experience with European components
At the same time, behind the beautiful declarations of “defense of all of Europe” There are very specific challenges: from the distribution of intellectual property rights to the speed of bureaucratic decision-making within the anti-ballistic coalition, experts note.
"The creation of the anti-ballistic coalition is an important step, but its current status needs to be assessed correctly. Today, this is primarily a political and organizational framework; a program with ready-made contracts has not yet been funded. Its fundamental value lies in the fact that Ukraine joins as a co-developer: we offer the missile component, our unique practical experience in countering Russian ballistic missiles, and the ability to go from engineering solutions to testing much faster than is usual for the European military-industrial complex," commented to DW the executive director of the Ukrainian Armaments Council Ihor Fedyrko.
He explains that the "Freya" project is not starting from scratch - the FP-7 missile has already passed tests. European partners can provide ready-made radars, homing heads, protected data transmission channels and combat control systems. According to Fedirko, the combination of competencies will indeed allow the path to be covered several times faster.
The main challenges facing "Freya" are bureaucratic
However, Fedirko also notes that "the missile itself is not yet an anti-ballistic system. The most complex task is to integrate the missile, radar, control point, guidance and communication means into a single complex, and then, through a series of tests, to confirm its ability to reliably intercept ballistic targets".
The challenges are serious enough, warns military expert Mikhail Samus, and they are of an organizational nature. "Agreements between companies must be signed, cooperation must be built, it must be clear who will hold the design documentation, the intellectual rights to the individual elements of the missile and the missile as a whole, or these rights will be distributed within the EU", explains Samus.
He is convinced that many organizational issues of this kind will arise. Therefore, the speed of implementation of the pan-European project will depend largely on how quickly these bureaucratic tasks can be solved by the allies.
The gap between "readiness for use" and serial production
Experts emphasize that if by project implementation is understood the first successful interception of a target or the achievement of limited combat readiness, then this is a very ambitious, but potentially realistic, deadline. However, if we are talking about mass production and deployment of a full-fledged European missile shield, the process will be much longer.
Oleg Katkov believes that the deadline announced by the Fire Point company for completing the tests in 2027 is completely achievable. Moreover, the missile has already passed tests twice, and all other components for the system are already being produced. Now a technological cycle must be created, for which memoranda have already been signed.
"There is currently a political will that needs to be transformed into a firm agreement," the expert points out. At the same time, he warns that a considerable amount of time may pass between the day the Ukrainian anti-ballistic missile system becomes ready for use and the start of mass production of missiles.
International security expert Alexei Melnik told DW that it is currently unclear how the anti-ballistic missile coalition will function, and there are no exact dates for when Ukraine will begin defending its skies with its own ballistic missiles.
"However, over the past five years, Ukraine has impressed many times. Therefore, let us hope that the combination of Ukrainian intelligence and international partnership will create this synergy that will allow us to once again pleasantly surprise the civilized world and, probably, somewhat unpleasantly surprise our enemy," Melnik told DW.
The coalition is not limited to "Freya"
According to experts, the work of the anti-ballistic coalition will be concentrated not only on the Ukrainian "Freya" project. The main idea of the coalition is to create opportunities for intercepting all types of ballistic missiles that Russia uses against targets in Ukraine and can potentially use against targets in European countries. Therefore, this is a complex strategy, including several directions, points out Mikhail Samus. "One of them is the production of missiles for the "Patriot" complexes in Europe, another is the "Freya" project."
His opinion is that these efforts should also include the French licensing program for the production of "Aster" missiles, which can intercept ballistic targets. "It is very difficult to have several manufacturers or one means that covers all needs. The more these means, the better - all of them together must ensure the safety of Ukraine and the European continent,", Samus is convinced.
Author: Liliya Rzheutskaya