Олег ОнопрієнкоWeapon
16 July 2026, 10:48
2026-07-16
“We are the only country in the world that practices ballistic interception every night”. Fire Point explained what is special about Ukrainian anti-ballistics FREYJA
The European Defence Initiative FREYJA aims to create a new anti-ballistic architecture that is fundamentally different from the current European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI). The new system will be based on an open architecture, will not depend on foreign suppliers, and will integrate Ukraine’s unique experience in repelling Russian air attacks.
The European Defence Initiative FREYJA aims to create a new anti-ballistic architecture that is fundamentally different from the current European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI). The new system will be based on an open architecture, will not depend on foreign suppliers, and will integrate Ukraine’s unique experience in repelling Russian air attacks.
This was reported in an exclusive comment for dev.ua by the defense company Fire Point, which is participating in the implementation of this project.
The company explains that ESSI and FREYJA are not competitors, but two completely different responses to security challenges. While Sky Shield is a mechanism for joint procurement of existing foreign systems such as the American Patriot or the Israeli-American Arrow-3, FREYJA focuses on its own development and full-cycle production — from sensors to interceptors — directly on European soil.
Buying ready-made weapons creates a dependency on supply lines and foreign political decisions. Instead, FREYJA should close this gap and ensure Europe’s technological sovereignty.
An important advantage of the project is the direct participation of Ukraine, because it possesses a unique asset that no European or American manufacturer has.
«We are the only country in the world that practices ballistics interception and multi-layered attacks in real conditions every night. This experience cannot be bought. It can only be integrated,» Fire Point emphasizes.
The FREYJA system architecture itself is being developed according to new principles for the Western defense-industrial complex. These include full component interchangeability, independence from a specific supplier, the absence of a so-called «kill-switch» (the ability to remotely block the system by the developer), and a focus on reducing production costs, which will allow the system to be scaled in the future.
«ESSI answers the question „what to protect today“. FREYJA answers the question „who and how will own the defense of Europe“ in ten years,» Fire Point emphasized.
Currently, Ukraine, Germany, France, Norway and Sweden are publicly involved in the FREYJA initiative. However, the developers emphasize that the goal of the project is not the number of flags in the coalition, but efficiency. The implementation of FREYJA is based primarily on the need to ensure the functionality of the system. International partners are involved as suppliers of specific technological solutions, which will later be integrated into a single complex.
«I hope that within the next 12 months we will see FREYJA in operation.» Zelenskyy on new major agreements with Europe in developing its own anti-ballistics
