Ukraine reportedly receives new U.S. air defense system for testing

Defense Express reported the information.

The system in question is developed by V2X and is designed to engage aerial targets using AGM-114L Longbow missiles. It's currently unknown exactly how many such systems Ukraine may have received. Given that Tempest is a new American development, it's possible that we're talking about one or several prototypes transferred for testing and further refinement.

According to the publication, the Tempest air defense system was first publicly presented in 2025 at the AUSA 2025 exhibition, which took place in October. The system exists in two variants: a stationary version on a trailer for protecting infrastructure facilities, and a mobile version for use with maneuverable units. The project is positioned as a relatively inexpensive and mobile means of combating drones, created taking into account the experience of the Russian-Ukrainian war.

However, the question of this air defense system's operational costs remains open. On one hand, Tempest can be deployed as part of mobile fire groups based on inexpensive commercial-class buggies. On the other hand, the AGM-114L Longbow missile costs, by various estimates, up to $100,000, which makes its use for intercepting kamikaze drones like the Shahed quite expensive.

Despite this, as the publication notes, given Russia's increasing production of strike drones, Ukrainian air defense is forced to employ even relatively expensive solutions to counter aerial threats.

• On November 2, 2025, Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the strengthening of the Patriot air defense system component in Ukraine's air defense.