During an attack by Russia last night, the Ukrainian Armed Forces used the FrankenSAM air defence system for the first time in combat conditions, Minister of Strategic Industries Oleksandr Kamyshin has said at a briefing in Davos.
Kamyshin noted that the development of new air defence systems takes years, and Ukraine could not wait. That is why it has created hybrid air defence systems using Western missiles and Soviet-style systems.
"One of these systems was successfully used for the first time last night. We shot down a Shahed kamikaze drone 9 km away," Kamyshin said.
In addition to FrankenSAM, Ukraine has about five different projects in development, all of which are already deployed on the battlefield to protect the country.
What is known about FrankenSAM
In October, The New York Times reported that Ukraine and the United States have created a hybrid air defence system that combines advanced Western-style surface-to-air missiles with modernised Soviet-era launchers or radars. US officials call it the FrankenSAM programme.