Ukraine

Ukraine's FP-7 enters combat: The homegrown ballistic missile designed for mass production

2nd October 2026 at 2:01pm

First combat use of Ukrainian ballistic missile FP-7

Ukraine has used its domestically developed FP-7 tactical ballistic missile in combat for the first time, President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced.

Sharing footage of a missile launch on 1 October, he wrote: "Ukrainian tactical ballistic missile. FP-7. First combat use. Thank you for the result. Next up: production."

Zelensky did not identify the target or where the missile had been used.

Asked what it struck, his communications adviser told the Kyiv Independent: "We're not telling."

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What the FP-7 can do

Developed by Ukrainian manufacturer Fire Point, the FP-7 is designed to deliver a payload weighing up to 200kg and strike targets at distances of up to 250km.

The company lists a maximum speed of 1,500 metres per second – equivalent to 5,400km/h – and a flight altitude of up to 60km.

It uses a ground-based launch platform which Fire Point says is designed for mobility and rapid deployment.

The manufacturer presents the FP-7 as a lower-cost alternative to ATACMS, the American Army Tactical Missile System, whose longest-range versions can reach targets up to 300km away.

Fire Point's chief designer and co-founder, Denys Shtilerman, told Army TV in March that keeping the missile inexpensive was intended to allow production in large quantities.

"If you produce two or three ballistic missiles a month, it makes no sense. It will not affect the front," he said.

Patriot missile — Fire Point is targeting a price of less than €1m per Freyja interceptor, compared with an estimated $4m–$6m for a Patriot interceptor (Picture: US Department of War)

An interceptor for Europe's Freyja project

Fire Point is also developing an interceptor variant, the FP-7.X, for Freyja, a European project intended to defend against incoming ballistic missiles.

The programme brings together Ukrainian missile technology and European partners supplying other parts of the air-defence system.

Speaking at the Euronews Defence and Space Summit on 30 September, Fire Point CEO Iryna Terekh said some system tests were due this year, with the first interception expected in mid-2027.