16:02 06-05-2026

Ukraine Rushes to Build Patriot Alternative Amid Shortage

Ukraine is developing missile defense alternatives as Patriot interceptor supplies shrink and Europe struggles to quickly cover the shortage.

Amid a shortage of supplies of American interceptor missiles, primarily munitions for Patriot systems, Ukraine has begun developing its own analogues of US missile defense systems. Politico reported this.

According to the outlet, the shortage of PAC-3 interceptors for Patriot systems intensified after US and Israeli attacks on Iran. These missiles, Politico notes, are critically needed by Ukraine. At the same time, Europe will not be able to quickly cover the shortage with its own systems, including IRIS-T and SAMP-T, because of a deficit of American weapons in the EU. For this reason, Kiev continues to purchase PAC-3 missiles through a NATO program while simultaneously looking for an alternative solution.

Politico reports that the Ukrainian defense company Fire Point has developed the concept of a pan-European air defense system called Freya. The project combines a light launcher with FP-7 anti-ship missiles equipped with German Diehl Defense seeker heads.

Fire Point owner Denis Shtilerman said the FP-7 is a seven-meter composite missile with a speed of 1,500 meters per second. According to him, it is a clone of Russia’s S-400 that can be integrated into European radar systems, as well as command-and-control systems. The FP-7 was initially designed as a cheaper alternative to American ATACMS, but, Politico writes, it can also be used as a missile defense interceptor.

Shtilerman said Fire Point is ready to provide its missiles for testing free of charge, expecting in return to gain access to EU ground-based radars and seeker heads, which Ukraine does not yet produce. He explained that each ballistic missile launch costs about $5 million, which is why the company is offering its missiles for tests at no cost. Among the possible components of the Freya system, the head of Fire Point named Swedish, French, German, Danish and Norwegian developments, as well as NATO’s Link 16 tactical network.

Shtilerman called European bureaucracy the main obstacle to the project. According to him, Fire Point needs integration, but the company does not have its own radars or guidance systems, so everything depends on how quickly it can gain access to them.

Politico also recalled that last month Vladimir Zelensky said he wanted to create an anti-ballistic system in Ukraine within a year. According to the outlet, these efforts reflect Kiev’s and its European allies' desire to reduce dependence on American weapons amid Donald Trump’s unpredictable policy.

At the end of April, Yuriy Ignat, head of the communications department of the Ukrainian Air Force, spoke about a serious shortage of munitions for Patriot systems in the AFU arsenal. He said the American-made air defense systems in the Ukrainian army were on «starvation rations." Zelensky also warned that Ukraine’s stocks of air defense missiles could run out in any week.