For several years, Ukraine has been running a program to develop inexpensive ground-to-air missiles, each costing no more than 20,000 dollars, according to Andrii Hriteniuk, the director of the startup platform Brave1, as reported by Business Insider.
Several companies have tested prototypes within this program, and Kiev “is preparing to send two of these companies into battle,” Hrițeniuk said in a video interview published on Thursday.
He expressed his hope that a third company will soon reach a similar stage.
Hrițeniuk said that some of these manufacturers have managed to reduce the price to $10,000 for each rocket, although the program has set a strict cap of $20,000 for each launch.
“It is significantly cheaper than a Shahed drone. Even if you need two or three missiles, the cost is still several times lower than that of a Shahed drone,” stated Hrițeniuk, referring to this ceiling.
Hrițeniuk said that the program was launched by Brave1 in the form of a competition among Ukrainian companies, to “create the cheapest possible anti-aircraft missile systems.”
“Funding for rockets began in 2024, but manufacturing a rocket takes even longer than manufacturing an interceptor drone,” he added.
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