The leaders of nine European countries from the French capital, Paris, in cooperation with Ukraine, announced their official agreement to launch an integrated military and technological alliance aimed at developing "anti-ballistic missile capabilities" on the European continent.
This new alliance includes France, Germany, Italy, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom, along with Kyiv, to create an independent air defense system capable of countering escalating missile threats.
"We believe that protecting Europe requires a comprehensive solution based on an integrated missile defense architecture, capable of deterring and countering future missile threats, through a collective effort, technological openness, and industrial cooperation based on trust," the joint statement issued by the French presidency said.
The statement noted that this new system will not abolish the existing systems, but will complement the air defense infrastructure currently adopted on the continent, including sovereign solutions acquired or intended to be acquired by the countries participating in the initiative.
Mobilization in Paris and the development of the Ukrainian alternative "Freya"
The announcement coincided with a high-level meeting in Paris that brought together about 25 European leaders, in the presence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has been actively seeking to rally European support for strengthening air defences, coinciding with the continuation of Russia's war and the escalation of strikes targeting Ukraine's infrastructure and energy networks since the start of the full-scale invasion more than four years ago.
Zelenskyy stressed that his country's top priority at the moment is to repel ballistic missiles, revealing that he has directed domestic military manufacturing companies to develop less costly alternatives to compensate for the acute shortage, and work to accelerate the construction of a joint defense system before the arrival of the winter season, when Moscow intensifies its attacks to cut off electricity, heating and water.
In this regard, the Ukrainian company Fire Point has begun to lead the technical side of the project by developing the advanced FP-7.x interceptor missile, which will form the cornerstone of the autonomous European defense system named Freya. This system has two essential elements:
The cost of producing one missile is estimated at only $700,000, compared to about $3.8 million for the U.S. missile used in the Patriot systems.
Although U.S. President Donald Trump has granted Kyiv a license to produce Patriot missiles domestically, Ukrainian officials have warned that converting this license into actual operational systems on the ground will take years.
Dennis Stillerman, co-founder and chief designer at the company, said Freya relies on an open architecture that allows partners to integrate easily and without restrictions, unlike closed Western systems in which the supplier country retains control over key elements.
Industrial cooperation, angry reactions from Moscow
The executive features of the project began to take shape with the signing of official agreements between the defense ministers of Ukraine and Germany to obtain technical documents, in addition to the conclusion of an agreement with the German company "Hensoldt", a German company specialized in the manufacture of radars, to integrate early warning systems, in cooperation with the Danish or Italian target guidance system, while the "Fire Distribution Center" system developed by the Norwegian company "Kongsberg" will manage the command and control center.
On the other hand, the reaction from the Russian capital Moscow came sharply and attacked the initiative, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov describing this new European alliance as "an alliance of war-mongers", considering that these steps contribute to prolonging and escalating the conflict in the region.
This coincided with French President Emmanuel Macron's recent speech to the armed forces on the occasion of preparations for National Day in July, stressing that Europe is on its way to becoming an independent military force capable of protecting its sovereignty and ready to defend the rule of law, even if the price is blood.
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