Frankenburg to Test Anti-Drone Missile in Ukraine in 2026

The Estonian company Frankenburg plans to test its new Mark 1 anti-drone missile in Ukraine between April and June 2026.

A company representative told Militarnyi at the World Defense Show 2026 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, that development is moving at full speed.

“We are developing the system as fast as possible and hope to carry out tests in Ukraine soon. My goal is to be ready for a demonstration in the second quarter. I don’t want to release the product too early while it is still being refined,” the representative said.

Frankenburg says the system is intended to become the world’s first affordable anti-drone weapon using a fire-and-forget principle.

Frankenburg system specifications

The main component is the short-range Mark 1 interceptor missile, which can engage targets at ranges up to 2 kilometers and at altitudes of approximately 1.5 kilometers.

The missile is equipped with a modern electro-optical seeker and a closed-loop guidance system. Targets are destroyed using a glass fragmentation warhead weighing about 500 grams. Instead of traditional metal fragments, the warhead uses glass fragments as its damaging elements.

Propulsion is provided by a composite solid-fuel rocket motor, which allows the interceptor to rapidly enter its attack trajectory.

A Frankenburg representative emphasized that the system was designed to counter unmanned aerial vehicles up to Class 3, with priority targets including Shahed-type drones and other slow-moving aerial threats, such as loitering munitions.

At the exhibition, the company presented a test launcher that had already undergone trials in Latvia in December last year. The final version of the system will feature four missiles per launcher. A fully operational system can integrate up to four stationary launchers, providing 16 missiles ready to fire.

The system is built on an open-architecture principle, enabling launchers to integrate with the customer’s existing ground-based target sensors, including radars and electro-optical sensors.

In the future, the system is planned to be installed on other platforms, including even maritime drones. In addition to the ground-based version, an air-to-air version is being developed in cooperation with a major defense company. This version will use a rail launcher for two missiles, mounted under the aircraft’s wing.

The company’s initial production capacity is based in Latvia, but it also plans to implement a “field foundry” concept. This modular production unit enables the rapid deployment of missile manufacturing directly in the country where they are used.