US Forces to Investigate Application of Project FrankenSAM Concept

As Russia’s missile and drone onslaught against Ukraine intensified in 2022 and 2023 the lack of sufficient ground-based air defenses both from Ukraine’s Soviet-era assets and those available from Western allies was becoming acute.

At Ukraine’s urging the US air force put came up with the idea of integrating Ukraine’s existing launchers, radars and target acquisition systems with the US’ plentiful supply of short-range air defense missiles – which some bright spark in the Pentagon dubbed “FrankenSAM.”

While the exact details of what they came up with is still being held close to the chest it seems they came up with three basic configurations:

The first, for which images have been published, is based on the Buk (NATO: SA-11 Gadfly) mobile surface-to-air missile launcher teamed with the RIM-7 Sea Sparrow ship-borne short-range air defense missile and the similar AIM-7 Sparrow air-to-air missile.

The second FrankenSAM that has been talked about combines unidentified launchers using repurposed heat-seeking AIM-9M Sidewinder air-to-air missiles as the effector.

There are also reports that a third system combines US Patriot surface-to-air missile launchers with elements from Ukraine’s S-300 (SA-10 Grumble) complex including its associated radars.

A YouTube video that appeared in February this year showed that it is not only the US that has jumped on the bandwagon. It shows a Supacat High Mobility Flatbed Transporter to which is fixed a launch ramp holding two AIM-132 Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile (ASRAAM) and a sensor box fixed to the rear of the vehicle’s cab.

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ASRAAM missile launcher fitted to a SupaCat HMT chassis. Photo: UK MoD

For obvious reasons, there have been very few public declarations of the use of the FrankenSAM weapons but there have been indications that they have been fairly extensively deployed and with some element of success.

Perhaps the most obvious indication that the experiment is working is the recently issued Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) appropriations authorization for 2025 which includes funding for the US Air Force (USAF) to examine the FrankenSAM concept and make recommendations on how it could be used in the future.

The attraction for the SASC lies in the ability to quickly combine easy-to-use, proven technologies with existing and new equipment that can be integrated with existing air defense systems where capability gaps have been identified. There are concerns that US military airfields, particularly those set up to support expeditionary operations, are currently vulnerable to missile and air attack because of a shortage of existing Short-Range Air Defense (SHORAD) assets.

Another selling point is that the FrankenSAM program was not only cost-effective but breathed new life into plentiful surplus munitions whose use in their original role was losing relevance and the turnaround time was rapid (when compared with normal development and procurement cycles).

From concept to contract award to delivery to first use, the initial Buk-based FrankenSAM saw action in just over eight months. Because the weapon system was based on a platform its Ukrainian users knew well it took only around two weeks of training for its crew to be fully operational.

The SASC document tasks the US Secretary of Defense to brief the congressional defense committee on the outcome of the USAF deliberations by March 31, 2025. It also wants the DOD to examine how to further expand the FrankenSAM system to support Ukraine and other contingency operations and to identify any additional resources needed to expand and improve the FrankenSAM system in other theaters.

The US has seen how the FrankenSAM idea, which was initially developed as a stop-gap solution to address Ukraine’s need for more air defenses has shown a way to provide critical short-range air defense capability rapidly, flexibily, effectively at acceptable cost.