FrankenSAM will be produced in Ukraine: U.S. to transfer technology
The modernization and adaptation of Soviet SAMs to Western missiles will take place both in the United States and Ukraine, which will significantly speed up the rearmament process
Ukraine will also produce modernized and adapted to the use of Western missiles anti-aircraft missile systems, which have already received the official name FrankenSAM.
The White House has officially announced that the Ukrainian side has already received technical documentation to begin production of some FrankenSAM projects. It is noted that “the parallel production of these systems in Ukraine and the United States will accelerate their deployment and allow Ukraine to make a significant contribution to the support of its air defense systems”.
The exact list of the systems is not disclosed, but there are three such projects in total. The first is an AIM-9M, the second is the adaptation of RIM-7 Sea Sparrow missiles to Buk SAMs, and the third is a hybrid of Patriot missiles and launchers with Ukrainian radar.
Each of these projects is indeed extremely important for strengthening air defense, and the fact that they will be produced in Ukraine in parallel directly affects the pace of their delivery to the army, as well as the possibility of their maintenance and repair directly in Ukraine.
Equally important is the fact that the statement from official Washington on the transfer of FrankenSAM technology comes along with reports of a whole host of parallel events and decisions.
For example, a large-scale conference of arms manufacturers from the US, EU, and Ukraine was held, with about 350 representatives of companies and agencies. The event was aimed at finding ways to speed up the production of weapons for the Ukrainian Defense Forces.
And it seems that this also means localizing arms production in Ukraine, because the US State Department has decided to send an advisor to the Ukrainian Ministry of State and Industry to help attract foreign investment and, of course, fight corruption.
An intergovernmental commission has also been set up to provide support to Ukraine and other partners to help conclude arms deals.
