Andreas Michaelides*

During Defence Tech Valley 2025 in Lviv — an event organised by Brave1 — DEFENCE ReDEFiNED spoke with representatives of the Ukrainian volunteer design bureau PARS, which manufactures the small cruise missile Trembita. 

Often dubbed the “People’s missile”, the Trembita made its first public appearance at the Defence Tech Innovations Forum in February 2025.

For a long time Ukraine has relied on missiles such as the American ATACMS and the British-French Storm Shadow, which has driven efforts to create an indigenous missile programme aimed at reducing dependence on foreign military aid. 

Also read: Ukraine | The first ATACMS strike on Russian soil took place

One outcome of that programme is the Trembita, a small cruise missile whose developers say is inspired by the German V-1 flying bomb of World War II. It is powered by a simple, top-mounted pulsejet engine and fitted with four glide wings. The engine is described as easy to manufacture and able to run on ordinary automotive petrol.

The Trembita at the Defence Tech Valley 2025 in Lviv

Representatives of the Ukrainian company stated that:  “The main goal of the project is to create a small cruise missile at the cost of a ‘Mavic’ drone. This will be an affordable, mass-produced strike weapon capable of depleting enemy air defences out to a 200km range.”

The missile comes in two versions: A strike variant — designed to hit priority targets such as air-defence systems, ammunition depots and concentration of personnel — costing around $10,000; and a decoy variant, without a warhead or advanced navigation, costing between $3,000 – $4,000.

PARS emphasised that the design is optimised for mass production even in small metalworking workshops, due to existing manufacturing technology for the missile’s individual components. “All the technologies we use for the missile already exist since WWII. It’s a simple, all-metal missile, with a solid-fuel booster and a basic pulsejet engine. It can reach 400 km/h thanks to its pulsejet engine, which is rarely used in modern missiles. Our goal is to find the intersection between cost and effectiveness. We have found the optimal point where more expensive materials and methods do not make sense for the effect we want to achieve.”

The representatives added that some of the Trembita’s drawbacks are actually advantageous: “Features that might be seen as disadvantages — such as a prominent heat signature and loud engine noise — are transformed into benefits. Enemy radar systems quickly identify it as a priority target and compel the adversary to expend expensive anti-aircraft missiles on cheap and abundant Trembita missiles. A salvo of 20-30 missiles can overwhelm and deplete enemy air defences.” The Trembita is reported to produce a loud 100dB noise, which can have a psychological effect on opposing forces.

The missile’s most prominent attributes are its low cost and producibility at scale. There are, however, discussions about an upgraded Trembita capable of reaching 800–1,000 km — a variant that analysts say could strike deep into Russian territory.

Also read: Flamingo | Ukraine’s Long-Range Cruise Missile Mass Production

The technical characteristics of the basic Trembita version are:

• Flight range: 140-200km
• Flight altitude: 50-2,500m
• Speed: 300-450km/h
• Flight duration: up to 40 minutes
• Launch weight of the fully equipped missile: up to 100kg
• Launch type: Pneumatic catapult or solid-fuel accelerator
• Booster weight: up to 18kg
• Warhead weight: 20-30kg (thermobaric or high-explosive fragmentation)
• Fuel tank capacity: up to 30 litres
• Fuel type: A-92 and A-95 petrol
• Fuselage length: 2.0m (2,000mm)
• Wingspan: 1.5m (1500mm)

The design Bureau PARS has received funding from the Brave1 Innovation Fund. The Trembita is intended for decentralised production across workshops in Ukraine, with many volunteers from different regions expressing interest in assisting manufacture. There is currently no official confirmation or timeline for serial mass production, though developers have spoken of ambitions to reach as many as 1,000 units per month.

Also read: Ukraine | The new missile Trembita in the foreground

*Special Associate

**This article was translated and summarised from its Greek original.