Ukraine confirms first combat use of its FP-7 tactical ballistic missile

Until now and for much of the war, Ukraine has had to rely largely on weapons systems provided by its allies to hit targets at a distance. kyiv has been trying to manufacture its own systems for some time and the latest example is the FP-7, a tactical ballistic missile developed in the country, nicknamed 'Palican', whose first use in combat has just been confirmed by the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky.

As reported by Reuters, Zelensky published a video of the launch and assured that the FP-7 had already been used for the first time in a real operation. "Ukrainian tactical ballistic missile. FP-7. First use in combat," he wrote before adding that the next step will be its production. The Ukrainian president did not reveal where it was used or against what objective and the specific result of the operation has not been confirmed either, so those details remain unknown.

FP-7, Ukraine's new missile

The FP-7 is a tactical ballistic missile manufactured by the Ukrainian company Fire Point and is designed to be launched from a ground platform and attack targets at medium range. It would be a low-cost equivalent to the American Patriot. Before mentioning its characteristics, it is worth noting that the published figures vary depending on the source.

For example, in the case of the current sheet that the company itself shows, it establishes a range of up to 250 km, a maximum load of 200 kilos, a maximum speed of 1,500 meters per second, about 5,400 km/h, an altitude of up to 60 km, a maximum flight time of 300 seconds and a declared accuracy of fourteen meters.

However, media such as Reuters and Ukrmedia.news point out that Ukrainian military analysts place its range at about 200 km. Therefore, the 250 kilometers and 200 kilos should be understood as the maximum figures that the manufacturer currently declares, not as something that has been independently verified. That is, not all of them have been able to be verified.

The FP-7 began testing this year and its development accelerated during the war. Before its debut in combat, the company had carried out around 15 test launches and hoped to complete its certification to join the Ukrainian Armed Forces. What they seek with it is to increase domestic missile manufacturing so that Ukraine depends less on foreign systems.

FP-7.X variant and soon the FP-9

In addition, they are also working on the FP-9, another ballistic missile whose current data sheet indicates a range of up to 850 km, a maximum payload of 800 kilos and a speed of up to 2,300 meters per second, an amplitude of up to 70 km and a maximum flight time of 520 seconds with a declared accuracy of 20 meters. There is also a variant called FP-7.X, which fulfills a different function.

Firepoint defines it as an interceptor of ballistic missiles within Freyja, a European missile defense project promoted by Ukraine and several Western partners. That is, the FP-7 is a missile that is used in combat to attack ground targets, while the FP-7.X is intended to intercept aerial threats.