Ukraine could soon field homegrown ballistic missiles modeled on the U.S.-made ATACMS, as work continues on the FP-7 and FP-9 systems. The weapons are being designed to be more affordable, the co-founders of Ukrainian defense firm Fire Point - Iryna Terekh and Denys Shtilerman - said in an interview with DW.
The FP-7 is intended as an ATACMS-like replacement with a range of up to 300 kilometers and a relatively small warhead.
The FP-9 would pack more punch, with a range of 800–850 kilometers and a warhead of up to 800 kilograms. Shtilerman said the missile would be capable of striking Moscow or St. Petersburg.
“We’re conducting tests now. There were significant organizational issues — they’ve been resolved, and we’re running final trials,” Shtilerman said, adding the company hopes to complete all testing by February.
Terekh argued that ballistic missiles are key to penetrating dense air defenses, including what she described as three defensive rings around Moscow.
“It will be much easier to hit Moscow with ballistics. It’s important to understand that neither cruise missiles nor drones - in numbers that could have a significant impact on Moscow or its infrastructure - will get through. So the only hope is ballistics with very high terminal speeds, over 1,200 meters per second,” she said.
She noted countries with far larger missile programs have spent years developing ballistic capabilities, citing France’s 15-year development of the M51 and Russia’s S-400. Fire Point, she said, is moving faster thanks to fewer bureaucratic hurdles in Ukraine.
The co-founders said the company will focus on ballistics in 2026, with a longer-term goal over the next two to three years to build a Europe-wide air-defense shield against ballistic missiles.
They expect the shield to be underpinned by software that ensures independence from any single manufacturer or country.
Shtilerman called Russian missiles - particularly the Iskander - the sector’s biggest challenge, noting interceptions now cost more than $6 million.
“We want to drop that to, say, a million or a million and a half per Iskander intercept,” he said.
To that end, the FP-7 would be used as a clone of Russia’s S-400 - but cheaper and with simpler control methods, according to the company.
On February 5, reports said Ukrainian “Flamingo” rockets struck Russia’s Kapustin Yar range.
Footage of the Flamingo launches at Kapustin Yar later appeared on X on the page of Fire Point co-owner and chief designer Denys Shtilerman.
Open-source analysts said the Flamingo strikes likely hit Site No. 105, part of the infrastructure used to prepare Russian ballistic missile launches.
