On the night of January 17, the Ukrainian Armed Forces first used a hybrid air defense system called FrankenSAM, developed as part of a joint program between Ukraine and the United States.
This was announced by the Minister of Strategic Industry of Ukraine, Oleksandr Kamyshin, during the Davos Forum.
The FrankenSAM system proved effective, shooting down enemy drones at a distance of 9 km. The Minister emphasized that this is the first case of using this system on the battlefield and emphasized its success in protecting Ukrainian airspace.
Alexander Kamyshin explained the FrankenSAM concept: “Instead of developing a new air defense system from scratch, which would have taken many years, we took Soviet components and applied Western missiles to them. We also used Western launchers and applied Soviet missiles to them.”
The minister thanked the military for the effectiveness of the new system, emphasizing the successful shooting down of enemy drones and the importance of its implementation to protect national security.
Recall that this event occurred in the context of Russian air strikes on Ukraine, where the FrankenSAM system provided successful protection against enemy drones.

