Ukraine deploys Thales Belgium’s FZ123 airburst rockets to down Russia’s Shahed drones
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Thales’ new 70mm laser-guided rockets with FZ123 airburst warheads have entered Ukrainian service to counter Russia’s Shahed attack drones. The system offers a low-cost, effective layer in Ukraine’s growing air-defense network as Moscow escalates drone strikes.
The War Zone reports that Thales’ 70 millimeter laser-guided rockets armed with a new FZ123 airburst warhead are now in Ukrainian service, marking a purpose-built counter to Russia’s Shahed one-way attack drones. The Kyiv Independent adds that deliveries have begun and underscores the system’s role inside Ukraine’s expanding counter-UAS mix as Moscow escalates drone strikes on cities and infrastructure. Together, the reports point to a practical, affordable interceptor that fills a gap between guns, MANPADS, and high-end surface-to-air missiles.Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
The Thales 70mm laser-guided rocket equipped with the FZ123 airburst warhead uses a proximity fuse to detonate a cloud of steel pellets near its target, effectively destroying drones like the Russian Shahed at ranges up to 10,000 feet (Picture source: Thales Belgium).
At the heart of the weapon is the FZ123, a 70 mm warhead packed with thousands of steel pellets that burst outward when triggered by a proximity fuse near the target. Thales officials describe roughly two pounds of high explosive driving a lethal cloud about 80 feet across, optimized to cut down propellers, sensors, and control surfaces on slow-moving or medium-altitude drones. The company says the rocket can defeat NATO Class II platforms, including Shahed-type one-way attack drones, and even heavier Class III UAVs at ranges out to roughly 10,000 feet when cued and lased correctly.
Guidance is classic laser beam riding for this category: a designator must hold the spot on the drone until terminal approach, at which point the proximity fuze replaces earlier impact-only logic to set off the airburst. If the laser link breaks, the rocket will fly to the last known point for several seconds before going ballistic, preserving a chance hit against a predictable inbound track. The tradeoff is familiar to crews who use APKWS-class weapons in air-to-air roles: night, weather, and altitude complicate lasing geometry but do not negate the shot if the drone’s path is stable.
Ukraine is already firing the Thales rounds from U.S.-supplied L3Harris VAMPIRE launchers, with a four-round 70 mm turret married to an EO/IR sensor mast for cueing. Kyiv has also adapted Mi-8 helicopters to carry NATO-standard pods, creating a mobile interceptor that can sprint to the sound of generators and meet inbound Shaheds forward of defended sites. Thales is prototyping a compact five-tube ground launcher of its own, while ramping production in Herstal, Belgium, toward about 3,500 guided rounds this year and a target of 10,000 annually by 2026, alongside capacity for tens of thousands of unguided 70 mm rounds.
The FZ123 rocket gives Ukraine a cost-effective layer for point defense of power plants, depots, bridges, and air bases when Gepard guns or IRIS-T batteries are tasked elsewhere. Crews can loft a short-time-of-flight salvo into a drone’s predicted path and detonate a pellet cloud where a direct hit would be unlikely with a unitary warhead. In mixed Shahed waves and decoy swarms, one burst can wound or kill multiple airframes, tightening the defender’s expense curve compared to expending million-dollar AMRAAMs or Sidewinders on low-end threats. As one Thales manager put it, the rocket is “kind of a low-cost missile,” a description that maps to Ukraine’s need to conserve high-end interceptors for cruise missiles and tactical aircraft.
Russia has expanded drone use in depth, and NATO air policing recently had to swat suspected Russian drones over Poland, prompting uncomfortable conversations about using scarce fighter-borne missiles for cheap targets. European capitals are now chasing scalable counter-UAS options, and Thales, the continent’s primary 70 mm rocket producer, is fielding intense interest as it explores assembly and repair work with Ukrainian partners. For Kyiv, each truck-mounted launcher and retrofitted helicopter equipped with FZ123 rounds closes the cost-exchange gap while signaling that Europe’s defense industry is finally tailoring production to the air war Ukraine is actually fighting.
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Thales’ new 70mm laser-guided rockets with FZ123 airburst warheads have entered Ukrainian service to counter Russia’s Shahed attack drones. The system offers a low-cost, effective layer in Ukraine’s growing air-defense network as Moscow escalates drone strikes.
The War Zone reports that Thales’ 70 millimeter laser-guided rockets armed with a new FZ123 airburst warhead are now in Ukrainian service, marking a purpose-built counter to Russia’s Shahed one-way attack drones. The Kyiv Independent adds that deliveries have begun and underscores the system’s role inside Ukraine’s expanding counter-UAS mix as Moscow escalates drone strikes on cities and infrastructure. Together, the reports point to a practical, affordable interceptor that fills a gap between guns, MANPADS, and high-end surface-to-air missiles.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
The Thales 70mm laser-guided rocket equipped with the FZ123 airburst warhead uses a proximity fuse to detonate a cloud of steel pellets near its target, effectively destroying drones like the Russian Shahed at ranges up to 10,000 feet (Picture source: Thales Belgium).
At the heart of the weapon is the FZ123, a 70 mm warhead packed with thousands of steel pellets that burst outward when triggered by a proximity fuse near the target. Thales officials describe roughly two pounds of high explosive driving a lethal cloud about 80 feet across, optimized to cut down propellers, sensors, and control surfaces on slow-moving or medium-altitude drones. The company says the rocket can defeat NATO Class II platforms, including Shahed-type one-way attack drones, and even heavier Class III UAVs at ranges out to roughly 10,000 feet when cued and lased correctly.
Guidance is classic laser beam riding for this category: a designator must hold the spot on the drone until terminal approach, at which point the proximity fuze replaces earlier impact-only logic to set off the airburst. If the laser link breaks, the rocket will fly to the last known point for several seconds before going ballistic, preserving a chance hit against a predictable inbound track. The tradeoff is familiar to crews who use APKWS-class weapons in air-to-air roles: night, weather, and altitude complicate lasing geometry but do not negate the shot if the drone’s path is stable.
Ukraine is already firing the Thales rounds from U.S.-supplied L3Harris VAMPIRE launchers, with a four-round 70 mm turret married to an EO/IR sensor mast for cueing. Kyiv has also adapted Mi-8 helicopters to carry NATO-standard pods, creating a mobile interceptor that can sprint to the sound of generators and meet inbound Shaheds forward of defended sites. Thales is prototyping a compact five-tube ground launcher of its own, while ramping production in Herstal, Belgium, toward about 3,500 guided rounds this year and a target of 10,000 annually by 2026, alongside capacity for tens of thousands of unguided 70 mm rounds.
The FZ123 rocket gives Ukraine a cost-effective layer for point defense of power plants, depots, bridges, and air bases when Gepard guns or IRIS-T batteries are tasked elsewhere. Crews can loft a short-time-of-flight salvo into a drone’s predicted path and detonate a pellet cloud where a direct hit would be unlikely with a unitary warhead. In mixed Shahed waves and decoy swarms, one burst can wound or kill multiple airframes, tightening the defender’s expense curve compared to expending million-dollar AMRAAMs or Sidewinders on low-end threats. As one Thales manager put it, the rocket is “kind of a low-cost missile,” a description that maps to Ukraine’s need to conserve high-end interceptors for cruise missiles and tactical aircraft.
Russia has expanded drone use in depth, and NATO air policing recently had to swat suspected Russian drones over Poland, prompting uncomfortable conversations about using scarce fighter-borne missiles for cheap targets. European capitals are now chasing scalable counter-UAS options, and Thales, the continent’s primary 70 mm rocket producer, is fielding intense interest as it explores assembly and repair work with Ukrainian partners. For Kyiv, each truck-mounted launcher and retrofitted helicopter equipped with FZ123 rounds closes the cost-exchange gap while signaling that Europe’s defense industry is finally tailoring production to the air war Ukraine is actually fighting.
