Zelenskyy taps European allies to build Freya, a cheaper Patriot-alternative to Russia’s ballistic missiles

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine will hold its first coalition meeting on a homegrown ballistic missile defense system called Freya in France in the coming days. The system is designed as a cheaper, mass-producible alternative to the Patriot system, capable of intercepting ballistic missiles that have caused significant civilian casualties. Zelenskyy noted that long-range missile and drone strikes caused 45% of Ukraine's civilian casualties in May, and ballistic missiles remain the one threat Ukraine cannot intercept with its own systems. The Freya system centers on the FP-7.X interceptor produced by Ukrainian company Fire Point, with a target per-shot cost of $700,000 compared to $3.8 million for a Patriot PAC-3. Fire Point has signed a memorandum with Germany's Hensoldt for radar technology and is in talks with other European firms for tracking and command-and-control systems. Zelenskyy said the coalition of roughly eight partner nations will speed up production, with the missile already flight-tested in early June and a goal of mass-producing three a day starting in August, aiming to intercept its first ballistic missile by the end of 2027.