Ukraine’s newest ballistic missiles are weeks away from combat

KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s latest domestically-made ballistic missile will be ready for combat by the end of next month, the country’s biggest defense company said, providing Kyiv with a new offensive option to combat what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy calls Russia’s “ballistic terror.”

The president discussed the missile shortage as he repeated his call to allies to help bridge the gap in Ukraine’s air defenses and weapons production capabilities during his annual speech commemorating 35 years of Ukrainian independence on Monday.

“A solution to [Putin’s] ballistic terror must be found, and this gamble of his must not pay off,” he said.

Dubbed a lower-cost analogue of the U.S.-made ATACMS, Fire Point’s FP-7 ballistic missile can strike targets up to 186 miles (300 kilometers) away, depending on the size of its warhead, which can weigh up to 331 pounds (150 kilograms), according to company representatives.

The missile was previously expected to be combat-ready no earlier than the end of 2026.

Its accelerated debut comes as Kyiv seeks solutions to its shortage of ballistic interceptors and it doubles down on its “long-range sanctions” campaign of strikes on oil refineries and missile launchers across Russian territory.

“The FP-7 is currently undergoing final tests in order to also receive certification and proceed to combat trials. So we expect its first combat use at the end of September,” CEO Iryna Terekh said at the DALO Industry Days arms show in Denmark last week, according to UNN . “We are ready for this; not much preparation remains,” she said.

Producing ballistic missiles could offer Kyiv three forms of relief at once: a way to strike the launchers it can no longer reliably intercept, a way to hold Russian cities at the same risk Ukrainian ones now face and fresh leverage in any return to negotiations, according to Ukrainian officials and military strategists.

With interceptors running low globally, destroying launchers on Russian soil cuts the number of ballistic and cruise missiles that Ukraine has to take down in the air, swapping a small mark racing through the sky for a truck-sized target sitting stationary on the ground.

“Advocates of a more offensive approach argue that the country should be aiming to ‘shoot the archer, not the arrow,’” according to an Atlantic Council brief published earlier this month.

Fielding both missiles would “significantly enhance Kyiv’s ability to strike Russian missile launch and production sites, while also potentially boosting deterrence,” according to the analysis.

The ballistics would also put pressure on Moscow’s war infrastructure more broadly, a coercive deterrent that mirrors the strikes Russia has aimed at Ukraine’s since 2022.

Ukrainian officials and company spokespeople have also said that they hope that bringing ballistic warfare to Russian soil will help push Moscow back to the negotiating table.

“The Russians must be brought to the negotiating table. There finally must be sanctions that will make them howl,” Zelenskyy said during Monday’s address. “Ukraine must be given everything that will force [Russia] to end the war. And this is possible.”

Fire Point will debut its next-generation missile, the larger FP-9, by late autumn, company representatives told Reuters earlier this month.

Traveling at speeds up to 2,200 meters per second, the FP-9 will be capable of carrying a 1,764-pound (800 kilogram) warhead as far as 531 miles (855 kilometers) — putting Moscow well within range, according to United24 .

乌克兰基辅——乌克兰最大的国防公司表示，乌克兰最新研制的弹道导弹将于下月底投入使用，为基辅提供了一种新的进攻选择，以对抗乌克兰总统泽连斯基所称的俄罗斯的“弹道恐怖主义”。

周一，在纪念乌克兰独立35周年的年度讲话中，总统再次呼吁盟友帮助弥合乌克兰防空和武器生产能力的差距，并讨论了导弹短缺问题。

他说：“必须找到解决普京弹道恐怖主义的办法，他的这种赌博绝不能得逞。”

据该公司代表称，Fire Point 的 FP-7 弹道导弹被誉为美国制造的 ATACMS 的低成本替代品，根据其弹头的大小（弹头重量可达 331 磅/150 公斤），射程可达 186 英里（300 公里）。

该导弹此前预计最早也要到 2026 年底才能具备作战能力。

基辅方面正寻求解决弹道拦截器短缺的问题，并加倍推进其“远程制裁”行动，打击俄罗斯境内的炼油厂和导弹发射设施，而这款导弹的加速亮相正值此时。

据联合国通讯社报道，德国国防军国防工业组织（DALO）首席执行官伊琳娜·特雷赫上周在丹麦举行的DALO工业日武器展上表示：“FP-7目前正在进行最终测试，以获得认证并进入实战试验阶段。因此，我们预计它将在9月底首次投入实战。”她还表示：“我们已经做好了准备，剩下的准备工作不多了。”

据乌克兰官员和军事战略家称，生产弹道导弹可以同时为基辅带来三种缓解：一种打击其无法再可靠拦截的发射阵地的方法，一种使俄罗斯城市面临与乌克兰城市目前面临的相同风险的方法，以及在任何重返谈判桌上获得新的筹码。

由于全球拦截器数量不足，摧毁俄罗斯境内的发射装置可以减少乌克兰在空中拦截的弹道导弹和巡航导弹的数量，从而将空中快速移动的小型目标替换为地面上静止不动的卡车大小的目标。

根据大西洋理事会本月早些时候发布的一份简报，“主张采取更具进攻性策略的人认为，国家应该瞄准‘射箭的人，而不是箭’”。

分析指出，部署这两种导弹将“显著增强基辅打击俄罗斯导弹发射和生产基地的能力，同时也有可能增强威慑力”。

弹道学还将对莫斯科的战争基础设施施加更广泛的压力，这是一种强制性的威慑，类似于俄罗斯自 2022 年以来对乌克兰的打击。

乌克兰官员和公司发言人也表示，他们希望将弹道导弹战争带到俄罗斯领土上，能够帮助迫使莫斯科重返谈判桌。

泽连斯基在周一的讲话中表示：“必须把俄罗斯人拉到谈判桌前。最终必须实施足以让他们发出惨叫的制裁。乌克兰必须获得一切能够迫使俄罗斯结束战争的条件。这是完全有可能的。”

火点导弹公司代表本月早些时候告诉路透社，该公司将于秋末推出其下一代导弹，即更大的FP-9导弹。

据 United24 报道，FP-9 的飞行速度可达每秒 2200 米，能够携带 800 公斤重的弹头射程达 855 公里（531 英里）——莫斯科完全在其射程之内。