Ukraine is preparing test strikes on Russian targets using the FP-7 ballistic missile, a domestically developed analogue of the American ATACMS missile which costs roughly half as much.
Denis Shtilerman, co-founder and chief designer at defense company Fire Point – the missile’s manufacturer – told Channel 24 that the missile has already completed its first flight test and is now entering the next stage of trials.
“The flight has already taken place. Now we are moving on to testing on our ‘beloved’ neighbors,” he said.
Shtilerman added that the domestically developed FP-7 ballistic missile is comparable to the American ATACMS – like the ATACMS, the FP-7 is capable of flying up to 300 kilometers (roughly 186 miles.) However, it costs only about half as much. On the other hand, the Ukrainian system is less compact than the American one.
At the end of February, Fire Point demonstrated the first stage of the FP-7’s flight.
The missile carries a 150-kilogram warhead, can reach a maximum speed of 5,400 kilometers (roughly 3355 miles) per hour, and fly at an altitude of up to 65 kilometers (roughly 40 miles.)
The missile was created on the basis of the 48N6 missile from the S-400 air defense system but features a modernized body and new electronics.
Its launcher has been simplified and mounted on a standard trailer, allowing for rapid deployment and easier concealment.
The missiles are expected to be launched from mobile launchers disguised as trucks, making them more difficult for the enemy to detect. According to the developers, deploying the missile launch complex will take about 15 minutes.
Shtilerman noted that Fire Point manufactures all components independently – from engines to flight control systems – while the warhead is produced separately to order.
Speaking about the cost of ballistic systems, the chief designer said they remain expensive, partly due to bureaucratic requirements that create additional burdens for defense companies worldwide.
Because of this, Ukrainian authorities made what Shtilerman called an important decision by shifting much of the bureaucratic burden toward the codification process for unmanned aerial vehicles.
“That’s why we codify everything as drones: both the FP-5 and the FP-7 are drones. We don’t have time to codify them using the old methods. If we had followed the canons created by military bureaucracy, we would still be testing the FP drone,” he added.
Fire Point’s product line includes the FP-1 deep-strike drone, FP-2 medium-range drone, FP-5 Flamingo cruise missile, and the FP-7 and FP-9 ballistic missiles, according to the company’s booklet.
The FP-1 has an average speed of 140-180 km/h (87–112 mph), an operational range of 1,400 kilometers (870 miles), a maximum flight time of seven hours, and a payload capacity of 60 kilograms (132 pounds).
The FP-2, which has been used against targets in Ukraine’s occupied territories, has the same speed but a shorter range of 200 kilometers (124 miles), a flight time of 2.5 hours, and a larger 105-kilogram (231-pound) payload.
Fire Point says it has grown rapidly, expanding from 18 employees in 2023 to 2,200 by September 2025, with 175,000 square meters (1.9 million square feet) of distributed production facilities.