Shtilierman made the comments in an interview with Army TV, a YouTube channel ran by the Defense Ministry.
He said the missile will be a cheaper alternative to Western systems.
“It will be similar to [U.S. tactical ballistic missile] ATACMS, probably with a larger warhead than an ATACMS, but it will cost at least two and a half times less than an ATACMS,” Shtilierman said.
A key feature, he added, will be high terminal approach velocity, which complicates interception.
“FP-9 will easily hit targets in Moscow because it will have a very high impact speed,” said the engineer.
“For example, the Iskander [Russian short-range ballistic missile] is currently about 800 meters per second [during final approach to target], and ours will be more than 1,000 meters per second.”
Shtilierman suggested that high terminal velocity could change the character of strikes deep inside Russia. He said cruise missiles and drones, despite regular attacks, are not always able to inflict significant damage on well-defended targets.
“Cruise missiles and drones currently cannot strike anything significant in Moscow; there is a dense ring of air defenses there,” he added.
Fire Point plans to test the FP-9 early this summer.