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Soviet Buk Meets US Missiles: Ukraine Reveals FrankenSAM in Combat for the First Time
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![Photo of Vlad Litnarovych]( "Photo of Vlad Litnarovych")
Ukraine has released the first official video showing combat use of a modernized Buk air defense system upgraded under the FrankenSAM program, offering the clearest look yet at the hybrid system in action, Ukrainian defense outlet Militarnyi reported on December 24.
Until now, only still photographs had been publicly available, showing Buk launchers fitted with US-made AIM-7 Sparrow missiles. The newly released footage marks the first official, non-leaked video documenting the system actively intercepting enemy targets.
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The video captures the work of Ukrainian air defense crews repelling a large-scale Russian aerial attack carried out during the night of December 22–23, 2025.
Ukraine’s Air Force first announced the delivery of Buk systems modernized under the FrankenSAM program in May 2024. The latest footage confirms that these upgraded systems are now fully operational and engaged in frontline air defense.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia launched a total of 673 aerial attack assets beginning at 6:00 p.m. on December 22. Ukrainian radar units detected and tracked 38 missiles and 635 drones of various types.
The attack included Shahed and Gerbera drones, as well as Kh-47M2 Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles and Kh-101 and Iskander-K cruise missiles. Ukrainian air defense forces reported that 621 aerial targets were either destroyed or suppressed.
The FrankenSAM modernization program involves extensive upgrades to existing surface-to-air missile systems to compensate for shortages of legacy ammunition. In the case of the Buk-M1, the program integrates AIM-7 missiles into the system’s self-propelled 9A310M1 launchers and 9A39 transporter-loader vehicles, preserving combat effectiveness despite limited stocks of original Soviet-era missiles.
Newly released images of a FrankenSAM in service with the Ukrainian Air Command West — responsible for 37 intercepted enemy targets 💪. pic.twitter.com/9osSQoLEzU
— SuperGAU (@thegauguy) November 3, 2025
In November 2023, Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Colonel Yurii Ihnat described the project as a unique hybrid solution.
“A kind of crossing of Soviet systems with American ones,” Ihnat said at the time.
The US-made RIM-7 Sparrow is capable of engaging aerial targets at distances of up to 20 kilometers and at altitudes of up to 15 kilometers, making it suitable for medium-range air defense tasks.
American Sea Sparrow missiles have found a second life after half a century in storage.
— UNITED24 Media (@United24media) January 23, 2023
Ukrainians came up with a way to launch them from the Soviet anti-aircraft systems. pic.twitter.com/f2eEkBOf4A
Recently, senior presidential adviser on strategic affairs Oleksandr Kamyshin stated that Ukraine is now capable of independently implementing the FrankenSAM air defense project, signaling growing domestic expertise in advanced air defense integration.
Defense analysts note that the emergence of FrankenSAM-equipped Buk systems highlights Ukraine’s ability to rapidly adapt Western weapons to Soviet-era platforms—an approach increasingly critical as Russia continues large-scale, mixed missile-and-drone attacks on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure.
As Militarnyi previously analyzed, the key question now is whether these upgraded Buk systems can provide sustained protection across the front—one that the newly released combat footage suggests Ukraine is actively testing under real battlefield conditions.
Earlier, reports emerged that Ukraine had begun upgrading parts of its Soviet-era air defense arsenal, with the Buk-M1 system already receiving new capabilities and the S-300 next in line for modernization.
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-72b63a4e0c8c475ad81fe3eed3f63729.jpeg "Photo of Cyril Barabaltchouk")
-111f0e5095e02c02446ffed57bfb0ab1.jpeg "Photo of Roman Kohanets")
