Night drone attack: Ukrainian forces deploy FrankenSAM hybrid air defense system – Kamyshin

Ukrainian military deployed the FrankenSAM hybrid air defense system for the first time to repel a night attack by Shahed drones, announced Ukraine's Minister of Strategic Industries, Oleksandr Kamyshin, at the Davos Forum.

"Instead of developing an entirely new air defense system from scratch, which would take years, we took Soviet components and applied modern Western missiles to them. Or we took Western launchers and used Soviet missiles with them," explained Kamyshin.

The minister referred to hybrid air defense systems, jointly manufactured by the Ukrainian Ministries of Defense and Strategic Industries in collaboration with the Pentagon under the FrankenSAM program.

In October, The New York Times reported that one variant of such systems combines Soviet "Buk" launchers with Western Sea Sparrow missiles, while another integrates Soviet radars and AIM-9M Sidewinder missiles.

Ukrainian forces successfully employed these hybrids for the first time during the night of January 17, countering the onslaught of Russian kamikaze drones.

"Today, we shot down a Shahed nine kilometers away, marking the first successful use of such a system. I am very pleased that we deployed it on the battlefield, defending our sky and our people," summarized the minister.

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