Yuri Kobzar16:04, 19.02.26

While Kyiv is begging for air defense from Western partners, its own developments have been ignored, and the developer is forced to look for buyers abroad.

Ukraine has developed a unique multi-caliber anti-aircraft missile system “Shershen” , capable of using anti-aircraft missiles of various systems – both Soviet and Western. Director of the Center for Army Research, Conversion and Disarmament Valentyn Badrak revealed new details about this development in an article for liga.net .

As the expert notes, the fact that the unique Ukrainian air defense system was taken to the Defense Show 2026 arms exhibition in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) on the one hand indicates the relevance of this weapon for the global arms market, and on the other hand, it indicates that the development company is forced to look for customers abroad, without receiving proper support from the Ukrainian state.

“Both the development company and its air defense system are going through a difficult time under constant missile attacks. The leadership of the now-liquidated Ministry of Strategic Industry, having visited the company after one of the “arrivals” in 2025, noted the problem, but it did not help anything, because the company is private,” the expert writes.

As for the complex itself, according to Badrak, this weapon is very necessary for the Ukrainian Defense Forces in conditions of intense Russian shelling. During tests, the complex successfully shot down five different types of anti-aircraft missiles of American and Soviet design.

“De facto, Ukrainian engineers have made a universal air defense missile system – both short and medium range – different missiles can be loaded into the container at the same time,” the expert notes.

According to Badrak, American engineers from Raytheon Company, which produces anti-aircraft missiles for Patriot, NASAMS, and other complexes, did not believe in the possibility of creating a universal launcher for anti-aircraft missiles at all.

It all started with a project that received the semi-official name FrankenSAM (literally, air defense Frankenstein), in which 28 Soviet Buk anti-aircraft systems were re-equipped to launch American air-to-air missiles due to the exhaustion of Soviet missile stocks for this complex.

A side result of the above experience was the emergence of “Shershne” – a universal multi-caliber air defense system, created from scratch. The Ukrainian enterprise developed its own, completely new launcher, command and control vehicle and radar. The highlight of the new air defense system is the launcher, but in general the complex is created on a modular principle and can be integrated with any radar of the customer’s choice.

Another interesting point: the Hornet can launch Soviet R-27 air-to-air missiles. And they were and are produced, in particular, in Ukraine.

“Preliminary estimates indicate that the cost of the Hornet air defense system will be 6-8 times cheaper than the actual, currently available analogue – the NASAMS air defense system. Accordingly, the missiles for it are also many times cheaper,” Badrak notes.

(c)UNIAN 2026