Friday, March 13, 2026 1:00:33 PM

Ukraine’s Armed Forces are receiving domestically produced air defense missiles, according to officials, in a move aimed at strengthening the country’s ability to repel aerial attacks.

Arsen Zhumadilov, director of the Defense Procurement Agency, confirmed that Ukraine is already purchasing homegrown anti-aircraft missiles for its air defense network. The systems include both upgraded Soviet-era models and newer domestic developments. He did not specify which missiles or surface-to-air missile systems are being acquired.

Ukrainian manufacturers have launched production of air defense missiles, and the Defense Ministry is buying them for the needs of the country’s defense forces, Zhumadilov said in an interview with the media outlet Militarnyi.

While the official declined to name the exact missile types or systems, *Focus* identified several air defense platforms for which Ukraine may have established production.

For Ukraine’s air defense discussion, see Zhumadilov’s response starting at 1:24:25.

In the interview with *Militarnyi*, Zhumadilov was asked whether the Defense Ministry is buying domestically made anti-aircraft missiles and whether they are based on old or new designs. He confirmed that such production exists and that various air defense munitions are being ordered.

“Yes, there is such a category, and it is being produced by our manufacturers,” he said.

Pressed on what types of missiles were involved, Zhumadilov refused to provide specifics. He added, however, that the weapons could include upgraded Soviet-era systems as well as products developed during Ukraine’s independence.

“Even if it remains from Soviet times, it is not an identical product. Everything is being refined, upgraded, tested and modernized. This process is continuous across the entire range — both what existed in those times and what appeared during independence,” he said.

Zhumadilov also declined to answer whether the Defense Ministry is purchasing Ukrainian-made air defense systems themselves.

Defense Express, a military-focused outlet, analyzed in July 2025 the range of surface-to-air missile systems used by Ukraine’s air defense forces – including systems received from abroad, inherited from the Soviet era, or domestically produced.

The list included around 30 items, among them Soviet systems such as the Igla, Strela, Buk and S-300, as well as Ukrainian systems including Osa, Strela-10 and the “Franken-Buk.” Militarnyi later added another system to the list – the Shershen air defense system, which was presented in February 2026.

Developers of the Shershen said it can operate with five types of anti-aircraft missiles and that, in the future, Ukrainian-made missiles will be among them. Even before 2022, media reports described efforts to restore S-300 missiles, modernize the Igla system and establish a full production cycle for R-27 air-to-air missiles.

On March 11, Ukrainian media reported on shortages of Patriot air defense missiles, which are used to intercept Russian ballistic missiles but are produced in very limited quantities in the United States and elsewhere.

According to analysts cited by Politico, the United States and its partners used 1,000 such missiles in a single week of war involving Iran, while annual production stands at only 200 to 600 units. Ukraine, meanwhile, needs around 60 interceptor missiles at the current pace of Russian strikes.

On March 7, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the West could receive help in countering Iranian drones in exchange for Patriot missiles.

Meanwhile, on March 12, Deputy Commander of the Ukrainian Air Force Pavlo Yelizarov said Ukraine plans to build an “Iron Dome”-like shield over the country.

(C)UAWIRE 2026