• Ukraine says it's working on new, domestically-produced air defenses.
• The decision was in response to the new Russian "Oreshnik" missile, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi said.
• In 2024, 30% of Ukraine's military gear was made in the country, according to President Zelenskyy.

Ukraine is working on a homegrown air defense system to rival the US-made Patriot, according to the commander in chief of its army.

The decision was spurred by the development of Russia's new missile, dubbed "Oreshnik," Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi told TSN, according to a translation by the Kyiv Independent.

"This encourages us to create our own air defense system, which would be not just an air defense system, but also an anti-missile system," he said.

Syrskyi added that "the work is underway, it is being actively pursued in this direction."

Russia fired its first Oreshnik at an industrial site in Dnipro, central Ukraine, in November.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the weapon was a "non-nuclear hypersonic warhead" that can travel at Mach 10, or 10 times the speed of sound.

Syrskyi said that only a handful of defense systems can intercept the Oreshnik, and that Kyiv doesn't currently have that ability. But he said that "back in Soviet times, we actually produced all the control systems for anti-aircraft systems."

Ukraine has struggled to counter Russia's missile and drone attacks with its existing air defenses, with the country repeatedly asking for more Patriots and other air defenses from its allies.

The full-scale Russian invasion has prompted a flowering of defense production in Ukraine, both with domestic companies and international manufacturing partnerships.

Ukraine produced almost a third of the weapons and gear it used in 2024, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this month.

Some Western defense manufacturers have also signed joint production deals and have set up shop in Ukraine. This includes Germany's defense behemoth Rheinmetall, which said it's working on a new air defense facility there.

On Thursday, the UK announced that it was giving Ukraine a new air defense system called Gravehawk, which had been jointly funded by Denmark.

Gravehawk can modify air-to-air missiles to be fired from the ground, according to the UK Ministry of Defence, with the truck-mounted system helping to free up more powerful resources — such as the Patriot and NASAMS air defense systems — for bigger targets.

• The UK is sending Ukraine a new air defense system, the Gravehawk.
• The mobile system has been retrofitted to fire air-to-air missiles from the ground.
• Having the systems will help Ukraine avoid running out of interceptor missiles, a military expert said.

The UK is sending Ukraine a new mobile air defense system that could help address one of its thorniest — and most expensive — issues.

Designed in the UK but part-funded by Denmark, Gravehawk can modify air-to-air missiles to be fired from the ground, according to the UK Ministry of Defence.

The MOD didn't specify which missiles it uses, but said they were already in Ukraine's possession.

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Ukraine has struggled to have enough air defense systems to counter Russia's air bombardments.

Allies have sent it advanced systems like the US-made Patriot air-defense system, but these are expensive and are mainly used to defend cities and power stations from cruise and ballistic missile attacks.

A Patriot missile costs about $4 million to fire, and Ukraine has repeatedly asked for more of them.

Gravehawk, a shipping-container-sized device announced Thursday as part of a new $5.5 billion military aid package, could go toward addressing this gap.

Justin Bronk, an air power analyst at the Royal United Services Institute, told Business Insider that Gravehawk provides Ukraine "a means to use more plentiful and affordable ammunition sources" than the handful of purpose-built but hugely expensive air defense batteries it has.

Having more air defenses like this "will help Ukraine avoid running out of interceptor missiles for those more expensive systems that are critical for defending against higher-end threats like ballistic and cruise missiles," he added.

"At a more basic level, it's also just adding additional air defense assets," he said. "Ukraine is an enormous country."

The UK MOD said that two Gravehawk prototypes were tested in Ukraine in September and that 15 more would follow this year.

"'Gravehawk likely builds on previous experience," Bronk said.

Ukraine has already fielded a makeshift air defense system that fires modified AIM-132 Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missiles, or ASRAAMs, from a Supacat truck chassis.

According to Bronk, this was used to shoot down Russian Orlan-10 and Zala-series reconnaissance drones, as well as Shahed-136 exploding drones.

Defense Express, a Ukrainian military news site, suggested that this setup was a precursor to Gravehawk.

Business Insider was unable to independently verify this.

The UK is also sending Ukraine drones and other equipment.

"This new package of support will help strengthen Ukraine's position on the battlefield or at any negotiating table," UK Defence Secretary John Healey said.

The need for more air defenses was amply demonstrated this week when Russia sent an attack drone close to the presidential palace in Kyiv during a visit by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

The drone was "a reminder of what Ukraine is facing every day," Starmer said at a press conference.