Ukraine confirms first combat use of new ballistic missile

Ukraine has used its homegrown FP-7 tactical ballistic missile in combat for the first time, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Oct. 1, adding that the next step is production.

“Ukrainian tactical ballistics. FP-7. First combat use. Thank you for the result. Next, production. Glory to Ukraine!” Zelenskyy said.

He did not say when or where the missile was fired, what it hit, or which unit launched it.

The FP-7 is built by Fire Point, the Ukrainian company behind the FP-1 long-range attack drone and the FP-5 Flamingo cruise missile. Fire Point describes the FP-7 as the compact ballistic missile in its family of weapons and lists a range of up to 250 km (155 miles), a payload of up to 200 kg (440 pounds), a top speed of 1,500 meters per second, or about 5,400 km/h (3,360 mph), and a maximum altitude of 60 km (37 miles). The company puts its accuracy at 14 meters (46 feet), though it does not say how that figure was measured, and none of the specifications can be independently verified.

A ballistic missile climbs steeply on rocket power and then falls toward its target at very high speed, giving air defenses far less time to react than they have against the drones and cruise missiles Ukraine has mostly used for long-range strikes so far. Russia has fired large numbers of Iskander and other ballistic missiles at Ukraine throughout the war, while Ukraine has relied mainly on U.S.-supplied ATACMS for ballistic strikes, which flies up to about 300 km.

With a range of 250 km, the FP-7 falls in the tactical class, able to reach Russian command posts, air defense sites, ammunition depots and airfields behind the front line and in occupied territory, but not deep into Russia. Fire Point has also announced a larger ballistic missile, the FP-9, intended for longer ranges.

The FP-7 is the second Ukrainian ballistic missile program to make news this year. On July 14, then-Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov announced a successful test of a domestically developed ballistic missile on the same day Ukraine’s government was dismissed in a cabinet reshuffle. Fedorov did not name that missile, but the details he gave pointed to the Sapsan operational-tactical system, known for export as Hrim-2, The Defence Blog reported. Fedorov said the developers had cut its cost by 30% and improved its accuracy.

Zelenskyy’s message suggests the FP-7 has moved from testing to battlefield use, and that the government now wants it built in larger numbers.