Estonian company developed an innovative anti-Shahed interceptor missile
The Mark I anti-drone missile is positioned as a short-range guided interceptor designed for mass production. The missile has already passed tests and will soon be launched into production.
Launch of the Mark I missile / Photo: Frankenburg Technologies
The developer of the Mark I anti-drone missile is the Estonian defense startup Frankenburg Technologies. The company calls its development the world's smallest guided missile, with a length of only 60-65 cm.
The video presented by the company shows their Mark I missile taking off and attacking a propeller-driven drone, which, by its characteristics (speed of about 200 km/h and a wingspan of about 2 meters), roughly corresponds to the size of a typical Russian-made Shahed ("Geran-2").
Frankenburg Mark I missile in a short-range air-defence engagement against a Shhhed-type target
The video shows the Mark I missile in a live-fire test, demonstrating:
- Launch of a moving fixed-wing Class III target drone (200 km/h)
- Target detection and tracking by an external… pic.twitter.com/64cbzQ6jtw
The startup states that it took 13 months from the initial idea to live-fire demonstrations – contrasting this timeframe with traditional missile programs, which often stretch over many years. It is worth noting that the Mark I missile was specifically designed for combat testing in real conflict conditions, and it is now being prepared for delivery to Ukraine for efficiency verification.
The company particularly emphasizes that the missile is built entirely from commercially available components. This not only allows for scalable production but also radically reduces costs – developers aim to bring the price of one missile down to a "low five-digit value" (approximately $10,000-$30,000). This approach should make shooting down inexpensive drones economically justifiable, which is impossible with traditional air defense systems where a single missile can cost millions.
According to company statements, the Mark I has a range of at least 2 kilometers. The missile can operate as a "fire and forget" weapon or use post-launch target acquisition to hit targets in difficult weather conditions. It is reported that the missiles can carry explosives.
According to the developers, the missile system requires only a few hours of operator training, which opens up the possibility for virtually any soldier – or civilian security specialist – to contribute to air defense missions.
It is reported that the missile has generated significant interest in Europe. Last year, Poland's largest state-owned defense holding Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa and Estonia's Frankenburg Technologies announced a cooperation agreement in air defense, planning to produce 10,000 such missiles annually.
Earlier this year, the manufacturer signed a memorandum of cooperation with the British defense company Babcock, which plans to develop a containerized naval launch system for the Mark I missiles. For now, it is only known that all engineering work will be carried out in the UK. Other details have not yet been disclosed.
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