Ukraine is now fully capable of producing FrankenSAM air defence systems
Ukraine is capable of independently producing air defence systems under the FrankenSAM programme.
Source: Mezha.Media, a technology and IT news platform within Ukrainska Pravda's holding company
Details: Oleksandr Kamyshin, Senior Advisor to the President of Ukraine on Strategic Issues, confirmed this during a briefing on the occasion of the Day of the Armourer.
The former head of the Ministry of Strategic Industries said that Ukraine has received technical documentation for FrankenSAM systems and can now implement these systems independently.
"The technical documentation for some of these projects has been handed over to the Ukrainian side. We can fully implement these projects on our own," Kamyshin said.
Briefing Ukrainian Arms 2024.
Photo: Ministry of Defence of Ukraine
It is known that the FrankenSAM programme (a combination of the words Frankenstein and SAM, which means surface-to-air missile system in English) was created by joint efforts of Ukraine and the United States to compensate for the shortage of Soviet missiles in the winter of 2022-2023 and to protect Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
The program developed three types of FrankenSAM systems: small, medium and large. They were to combine Soviet systems available in Ukraine with Western missiles.
Herman Smetanin, Head of the Ministry of Strategic Industries.
Photo: press service of the Ministry
When asked whether these projects would develop productively with the change of government in the United States, Herman Smetanin answered at the briefing: "Some of the FrankenSAM projects were implemented in 2024. The upgraded or improved equipment was upgraded, improved and delivered to Ukraine's Security and defence forces. Some projects are still ongoing. There was a stage when there was a short pause. It was probably technical, but now there are no 'hiccups'."
Ukrainian Buk-M1 anti-aircraft system with RIM-7 Sea Sparrow missiles.
Photo: Command of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Background:
The United States helped Ukraine implement two types of such systems capable of firing Western missiles in October 2023. A SAM firing AIM-9M Sidewinder air-to-air missiles – the "small" FrankenSAM – was created. The Buk-M1 was also adapted to use RIM-7 anti-aircraft missiles. At the time, it was reported that both systems would be put on combat duty in the autumn of 2023.
The New York Times reported that US developers had managed to integrate Patriot missiles with an old Soviet air defence system, creating a "large" FrankenSAM in October 2023. This system was able to destroy a drone during tests at the White Sands Test Site in New Mexico. The anti-aircraft missile was integrated with a Ukrainian-made launcher and radar station. The system was planned to be transferred to Ukraine, along with a stockpile of missiles from the United States and allies, in the winter of 2023/24. It became known that the Ukrainian air defence used the FrankenSAM system against enemy drones for the first time in January 2024. It successfully shot down an Iranian Shahed kamikaze drone at a distance of 9 kilometres.
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