United Kingdom orders accelerated development of ballistic missile for Ukraine - Bloomberg

The United Kingdom has signed contracts with several companies for development work as part of the Nightfall project, which aims to create a ballistic missile for Ukraine. Bloomberg reported this, citing its own sources.

According to the agency’s sources, the UK Ministry of Defense has simplified the technical requirements to speed up development and deliver the missile to Ukraine in 2027.

They also said that companies participating in the Nightfall project must successfully pass tests before receiving contracts to manufacture the missiles.

It was expected that preliminary contracts would be signed by March, but their signing has been delayed by about two months, the sources said. Test launches are set to begin within 12 months, with deliveries scheduled for late 2027, they added.

The program has two objectives: to provide Ukraine with everything necessary to repel a full-scale invasion by russia, the aggressor nation, and at the same time to expand Europe’s defense capabilities amid less reliable support from the United States.

Initially, the Nightfall project called for a range of over 600 kilometers, a 300-kilogram warhead, and a cost of less than USD 700,000 per unit. Following feedback from industry representatives, these specifications were reduced to a range of 500 kilometers, a warhead weight of 200 kilograms, and a cost of just over USD 1 million.

In addition, this missile must be capable of being launched from various vehicles capable of rapidly firing multiple missiles in succession. The weapon must also function under electronic warfare (EW) conditions while remaining simple enough to produce 10 systems per month.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, in early June, former Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov stated that Ukraine is developing its own ballistic missile to strike targets on russian territory.

As a reminder, in February of this year, it was reported that the Ukrainian company Fire Point had developed the FP-9 ballistic missile, which will be capable of reaching moscow and St. Petersburg.