Ukraine puts 'Frankenstein' monster missiles into combat duty

Ukrainian officials say Kiev has deployed a "Frankenstein"-style air defense system to counter Russia's winter offensive.

"The first products of the FrankenSAM project have been deployed on the battlefield," Ukraine's Minister of Strategic Industries Oleksandr Kamyshin said on December 27. "They help Ukraine protect cities and important infrastructure."

According to Kamyshin, FrankenSam (Frankenstein's Monster Missile) is a program to combine parts of Western air defense systems with old Soviet-era complexes, which Ukraine has a lot of in stock. Some projects simply install American missiles on old launchers, others are more complex, such as integrating entire Western launchers into the S-300 air defense system.

"The biggest advantage of this program is speed. Normally it takes 3-4 years to create a new air defense system, while we have already delivered the first products of the program," said Mr. Kamyshin.

Ukraine's Minister of Strategic Industries said Washington and Kiev are developing five FrankenSAM projects, including short-, medium- and long-range air defense systems. The country is expected to receive more products from the program in the near future.

The air defense complex of the FrankenSAM program in a photo posted on December 28. Photo: X/MAKS 23 — The air defense complex of the FrankenSAM program in a photo posted on December 28. Photo: *X/MAKS 23*

Information about the FrankenSAM program first emerged in April this year, after a number of classified US intelligence documents were leaked on the social network Discord. US media reported in October that the country had tested at least two products, including the RIM-7 missile mounted on the Buk air defense system and a combination of Soviet-era radar with the AIM-9M missile.

Yuri Ignat, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, said in November that Kiev had successfully hacked the Soviet-era Buk-M1 air defense system to use missiles supplied by the United States. "We have recorded good results when testing the Buk-M1 air defense system on a training ground in the United States," Ignat said.

The White House announced earlier this month that the US had provided Ukraine with the technical data needed to produce the FrankenSAM air defense systems domestically. "Concurrent production in the United States and Ukraine will enable Kiev to deploy them to the field more quickly and significantly enhance its air defense capabilities," the statement said.

Ukraine's Buk-M1 air defense missile system. Photo: Ukrainian Ministry of Defense — Ukraine's Buk-M1 air defense missile system. Photo: *Ukrainian Ministry of Defense*

Ukraine is in dire need of additional air defense systems, as Russia has recently stepped up attacks on Kiev's energy infrastructure with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and long-range missiles, similar to the tactics Moscow used last winter.

The Ukrainian Air Force announced on December 27 that Russia had deployed 46 Shahed-type suicide drones to attack many areas in the country, killing two people. Yesterday, Moscow continued to launch 8 more UAVs to attack Ukraine, of which 7 were intercepted.

Kiev possesses many Soviet-era air defense systems such as the S-300 and Buk, but ammunition reserves are running low due to having to deal with repeated Russian attacks.

The US and the West have provided a number of NATO-standard systems such as Patriot, IRIS-T, NASAM and Flakpanzer Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns to Kiev, and transferred RIM-7 Sea Sparrow anti-aircraft missiles and other types of ammunition, but the quantity is said to be insufficient.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said in November that Ukraine's air defense network is "stronger than last year," but admitted that the country's military is not yet capable of protecting its entire territory and needs to continue to receive additional equipment to be able to defend itself.