Zelenskyy taps European allies to build Freya, a cheaper Patriot-alternative to Russia’s ballistic missiles泽连斯基寻求欧洲盟友的帮助，建造“弗雷亚”导弹，这是一种比俄罗斯“爱国者”导弹更便宜的替代品。
Ukraine will hold its first coalition meeting on a homegrown ballistic missile defense system in France “in the coming days.”
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine will hold its first coalition meeting on a homegrown ballistic missile defense system in France “in the coming days” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday, advancing Kyiv’s yearslong effort to begin producing a domestically made counter to Russia’s deadly ballistic missiles.
The push follows this week’s NATO summit in Ankara, where allies pledged €70 billion ($80 billion) in military aid for Ukraine this year.
U.S. President Donald Trump also pledged to allow Ukraine a license to build its own Patriot interceptors, a long-awaited goal of Kyiv. “We’ll give them the right to make Patriots,” he said.
“This is a European model,” Zelenskyy said Thursday. “FREYA is our Ukrainian anti-ballistic system...an analogue in terms of intercepting ballistic targets, an analogue of Patriot, but a system for more mass production and a cheaper system.”
Long-range missile and drone strikes caused 45% of Ukraine’s civilian casualties in May, the worst monthly toll since April 2022, according to a U.N. report .
Ballistic missiles remain the one threat Ukraine still can’t intercept with a system it built itself. Freya could change that, potentially shifting Kyiv’s position on the battlefield and at the negotiating table.
Freya centers on the FP-7.X interceptor, produced by the Ukrainian company Fire Point , and is designed to hit a ballistic target at roughly 15 miles altitude.
Like Patriot interceptors, Freya is an entire system and will rely on allies for production support.
“A system needs not only a missile and a launcher. It needs radars, command and control, and many different elements,” he said.
“To create our anti-ballistic system very quickly, we need European partners who have production of those things that Ukraine does not yet have for its own anti-ballistic system.”
Fire Point has signed a memorandum with Germany’s Hensoldt for radar technology and is in talks with France’s Thales, Italy’s Leonardo and Norway’s Kongsberg to supply tracking and command-and-control systems.
Zelenskyy said the Freya coalition, which he described as comprising roughly eight partner nations, will speed up the production process and make a faster timeline possible.
“We can do it ourselves, but years will pass,” he said.
Fire Point is targeting a per-shot cost near $700,000, versus roughly $3.8 million for a Patriot PAC-3.
The missile was flight-tested in early June, the company said, and is aiming to mass-produce three a day starting in August and intercept its first ballistic missile by the end of 2027.
The upcoming meeting in France may yield the next updates as Zelenskyy said the current plan depends on partner nations, their manufacturers and their production capacity signing on.
“God willing, the partners will support it, and God willing, our manufacturers will succeed with all of this,” he said.
Katie Livingstone is the Ukraine correspondent for Defense News and Military Times. Based in Kyiv, she has covered Russia's full-scale invasion since its first days. She is a former Fulbright fellow whose award-winning work has appeared in outlets across Europe and the U.S.
乌克兰基辅——乌克兰总统泽连斯基周四表示，乌克兰将在“未来几天”在法国举行首次关于国产弹道导弹防御系统的联盟会议，这标志着基辅多年来致力于研发国产反制俄罗斯致命弹道导弹系统的努力取得了进展。
此次行动是在本周于安卡拉举行的北约峰会之后进行的，会上盟国承诺今年向乌克兰提供 700 亿欧元（800 亿美元）的军事援助。
美国总统唐纳德·特朗普还承诺允许乌克兰获得制造“爱国者”导弹拦截器的许可，这是基辅长期以来的夙愿。“我们将赋予他们制造‘爱国者’导弹的权利，”他说。
泽连斯基周四表示：“这是欧洲模式。弗雷亚是我们的乌克兰反弹道导弹系统……在拦截弹道目标方面，它与爱国者导弹系统类似，但它是一个更适合大规模生产且更便宜的系统。”
联合国一份报告显示，5月份乌克兰45%的平民伤亡是由远程导弹和无人机袭击造成的，这是自2022年4月以来最严重的月度伤亡。
弹道导弹仍然是乌克兰目前唯一无法用其自主研发的系统拦截的威胁。弗雷亚导弹系统或许能够改变这一现状，进而可能改变基辅在战场和谈判桌上的立场。
Freya 的核心是乌克兰 Fire Point 公司生产的 FP-7.X 拦截弹，该拦截弹旨在击中大约 15 英里高空的弹道目标。
与爱国者拦截器一样，弗雷亚是一个完整的系统，需要依靠盟友提供生产支持。
他说：“一个系统需要的不仅仅是导弹和发射器，它还需要雷达、指挥控制系统以及许多其他不同的组成部分。”
“为了尽快建立我们的反弹道导弹系统，我们需要欧洲合作伙伴，他们能够生产乌克兰自身反弹道导弹系统尚不具备的那些部件。”
Fire Point 已与德国 Hensoldt 公司签署雷达技术备忘录，并正在与法国 Thales 公司、意大利 Leonardo 公司和挪威 Kongsberg 公司洽谈，以提供跟踪和指挥控制系统。
泽连斯基表示，弗雷亚联盟（他将其描述为由大约八个伙伴国家组成）将加快生产过程，并使更快的进度成为可能。
“我们可以自己做，但这需要很多年时间，”他说。
Fire Point 的目标是将每次射击的成本控制在 70 万美元左右，而 Patriot PAC-3 的成本约为 380 万美元。
该公司表示，该导弹于 6 月初进行了飞行测试，目标是从 8 月开始每天批量生产三枚，并在 2027 年底前拦截第一枚弹道导弹。
泽连斯基表示，目前的计划取决于伙伴国家、其制造商及其生产能力是否签署协议，因此即将在法国举行的会议可能会带来新的进展。
他说：“如果上帝保佑，合作伙伴们会支持我们；如果上帝保佑，我们的制造商们也会在这一切上取得成功。”
凯蒂·利文斯通是《防务新闻》和《军事时报》的乌克兰特派记者。她常驻基辅，自俄罗斯全面入侵乌克兰之初便开始报道此事。她曾是富布赖特学者，其获奖作品发表于欧洲和美国的多家媒体。