The Ukrainian company Fire Point is working on upgrading the FP-2 strike drone to increase the weight of its warhead to 158 kg while maintaining the flight range at 200 km.
The Ukrainian company Fire Point is working on upgrading the FP-2 strike drone to increase the weight of its warhead to 158 kg while maintaining the flight range at 200 km.
According to Military, this was stated in an interview with Army TV by Fire Point co-founder and chief designer Denis Shtilerman. To accommodate a heavier warhead, the company created a new fuel tank that is installed inside the wing. This solution is currently being codified by the Ministry of Defense.
Fire Point wants to use the same development for its other long-range drone, the FP-1. While its warhead currently weighs approximately 50-60 kg, after the upgrade it is planned to increase it to 105 kg.
Separately, the company told how they control the quality of warheads. Fire Point does not produce them independently, but orders them from contractors. According to Shtilerman, every twentieth ammunition from the batch is opened and checked to see if everything is done correctly. This is important, because poor-quality equipment or cavities inside the explosive can sharply reduce the effectiveness of the damage. One of the military requirements, according to him, was the ability to penetrate 15 cm of concrete without destroying the warhead body.
At the same time, Fire Point is trying to make its drones cheaper to produce. The company says it has found technical solutions that could eliminate the need for expensive antennas and receivers that help it work in electronic warfare environments. Instead, the developers are relying on optical navigation. It has already been implemented on a relatively inexpensive night camera, which is designed to help the drone fly and hit its target even without GPS.
According to the designer, Fire Point has already gone through seven generations of navigation solutions and is constantly changing its approach. FP-2 is currently being tested daily, and at least four flights a day are being conducted specifically as part of the tests.
In fact, the company is solving two problems at the same time: it is increasing the impact power of its drones and trying to make them cheaper without losing efficiency. If these solutions are brought to the serial level, this will allow launching long-range vehicles with a heavier warhead and less dependence on expensive components.
Previously, dev.ua wrote about how the co-owner and chief designer of the Ukrainian miltech company Fire Point, Denis Shtilerman, revealed details of the new FP-7 and FP-9 ballistic missiles and when to expect their combat use.
