Ukrainian arms maker Fire Point is developing a new air defense system called Freya together with Europe, positioning it as a lower-cost alternative to the US’s MIM-104 Patriot system, the company’s co-owner and CEO Denys Shtilerman said on Monday. Shtilerman, speaking at a parliamentary hearing, said the project aims to create an air defense system capable of intercepting ballistic missiles. He said the program is currently in the testing phase for prototype systems.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “If everything goes well, we will have the first interceptions by the end of the year,” Shtilerman said. The Patriot system is central to Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s high-speed missiles, but US supplies are strained by the war in Iran. According to a senior Ukrainian Air Force officer in March, up to eight missiles were fired to take down a single Iranian drone in the Middle East, compared with one or two against Russian missiles in Ukraine. Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense described the latest generation PAC-3 missile – estimated to cost around $4 million per unit – as “the most effective interceptor” against advanced Russian missiles in a press release. Shtilerman described Freya as a joint European project involving Germany, France, and Norway. He said Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council (RNBO), is coordinating the program on the Ukrainian side.