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Ukraine’s New FP-9 Ballistic Missile Could Strike Targets 800 km Away, Developer Says
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Ukrainian engineers are developing a new ballistic missile capable of striking targets up to 800 kilometers away, according to statements by a senior developer from the Ukrainian defense company Fire Point.
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Denys Shtilerman, co-founder and chief designer of the Ukrainian defense company Fire Point, said the company is working on the FP-9 ballistic missile, according to Army TV on March 9.
The system is intended to strike targets deep inside Russia with high terminal speed designed to complicate interception by air defense systems.
Speaking in an interview with Army TV, Shtilerman said the missile’s defining feature will be the speed at which it approaches the target.
“FP-9 will easily hit targets in Moscow because it has a very high arrival speed. For example, the Iskander currently has about 800 meters per second, and ours will have more than a thousand,” Shtilerman said.
According to Army TV, the missile is being designed with the goal of increasing the effectiveness of long-range strike capabilities by reducing the probability of interception. The higher terminal velocity is expected to make it more difficult for air defense systems to engage the incoming projectile.
Shtilerman also said that ballistic missiles could significantly change the dynamics of long-range strikes against targets located deep inside Russia.
“Cruise missiles and drones cannot currently hit anything substantial in Moscow. There is a dense air defense ring there,” Shtilerman said in comments cited by Army TV.
Developers plan to conduct the first tests of the FP-9 missile in early summer. The project follows earlier systems developed by Fire Point, including the FP-7 ballistic missile platform referenced by the company.
Earlier, newly surfaced surveillance footage showed a Ukrainian FP-5 “Flamingo” cruise missile striking Russia’s Votkinsk missile production plant in Udmurtia on February 21.
The video captured the missile impacting production workshop No. 22, followed by two explosions—one at the moment of impact and another shortly after—indicating an internal detonation that analysts say likely caused significant damage to equipment used in the production of ballistic missiles.
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