US military specialists are implementing the FrankenSAM program, the goal of which is to create special, unique air defense systems.
“Buk” air defense system. Image credit: Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (CC BY-SA 2.0) via Wikimedia
Ivan Kirichevski, a military expert at Defense Express, said the US FrankenSAM program aims to equip Soviet air defense systems, such as the 9K37 Buk, with modern Western munitions.
At present, one of the key problems is that Ukraine has missile launchers and more of them can still be found in other countries of the former Eastern Soviet Bloc. However, the reserves of projectiles compatible with these systems are low; furthermore, these countries do not have production capabilities to replenish stocks of these rockets.
The developer of these weapons, Russia, of course, does not have any slightest intention to supply missiles because they would be used to shoot down its own planes and cruise missiles. So, in the face of such limitations, Ukrainians and their allies are trying to adapt completely different rockets for this purpose.
The FrankenSAM project envisions adapting Soviet air defense missile systems, which may no longer have a supply of compatible missiles, to work with an entirely different alternative – the American-made missiles.
For example, one of the ideas is the adaptation of Buk launcher platforms to shoot AIM-7 missiles. If the project is successful, these rockets would be able to shoot down Shahed drones, cruise missiles and some other targets near the front line, explained Kirichevski.
According to the military expert, the FrankenSAM project is a real revolution in air defense. No one has yet paired American missiles with Soviet-era air defense systems. This would open up new possibilities for supplying the armed forces of Ukraine, and would help to quickly and effectively strengthen the air defense of Ukraine.
“The US transfers technology to us because it’s not enough to have launchers, you need to be able to service them. That’s why the Pentagon transferred these technologies. This is the technology that costs hundreds of millions of dollars, and it is transferred to us. The FrankenSAM project is a revolution in air defense. No one has ever organized the serial application of American missiles to Soviet air defense systems,” Kirichevski emphasized.
Written by Vytautas Valinskas
Source: tsn.ua