Ukraine’s FP-1 Drone Becomes Anti-Aircraft Platform to Hunt Russian UAVs

Ukraine’s Fire Point has adapted its FP-1 strike drones into airborne platforms for anti-aircraft weapons and interceptor FPV drones, according to Militarnyi on March 16.

The outlet noted that the Ukrainian company expanded the FP-1 family beyond its original long-range strike role by developing new carrier variants.

One version was built to launch FPV interceptor drones, while other modifications were fitted to use anti-aircraft weapons against hostile unmanned systems.

Militarnyi reported that the redesign is based on the FP-1 platform, which Fire Point had earlier fielded as a suicide drone.

The new concept reflects a broader shift in Ukraine’s drone war, where existing strike systems are being repurposed for layered air defense and counter-UAV missions.

“There are also FP-1 versions equipped with machine guns and anti-aircraft weapons—they also perform interceptor roles against enemy UAVs,” Fire Point’s Iryna Terekh stated in remarks highlighted in related coverage of the development.

The standard FP-1 model is designed as a long-range one-way strike drone built for deep attacks against strategic targets. It combines a range of up to 1,600 kilometers with a payload capacity of up to 113 kilograms.

The drone was publicly unveiled in Kyiv in May 2025, though it had already been used in combat. Its design is optimized for fast, low-cost mass production, using plywood structural components and relatively simple assembly methods.

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War in Ukraine

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The FP-1 is one of Fire Point’s best-known systems and has previously been presented as a long-range Ukrainian strike drone.

The development comes as Ukrainian manufacturers diversify drone roles across the battlefield, with a growing focus on intercepting enemy UAVs as Russia intensifies drone attacks.

The adoption of drone platforms also aligns with the increased purchase of UAV systems for frontline use.

Ukraine’s Defense Procurement Agency has sharply expanded purchases of multicopters at the start of 2026, with deliveries to frontline units running at twice the level recorded in the same period last year.

The latest contracts center on tactical systems such as Mavic, Autel, and Matrice drones, while February deliveries alone rose 17% from January as procurement was accelerated through rapid tenders.

Officials also pointed to parallel work on AI-enabled alternatives to Mavic platforms, alongside a broader 2026 push to raise purchases of interceptors, FPV systems, fiber-optic drones, and long-range strike assets.

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