Fire Point, Ukraine’s leading arms manufacturer, has scaled production to manufacture roughly 100 Flamingo cruise missiles per month and hundreds of fixed-wing drones daily, according to chief executive Iryna Terekh. The company’s output enables sustained long-range strike operations against targets deep within Russian territory. Manufacturing operations recently resumed after a pause caused by delays in EU lending approval to Ukraine.
The Flamingo missiles carry 1,150 kilograms of explosive payload capable of penetrating concrete structures and cost approximately $600,000 each—less expensive than US Tomahawk missiles priced around $3.5 million. The lighter FP-1 drones, ranging over 1,000 miles, are deployed against Russian oil refineries as part of a campaign that has reduced their production capacity by 20 percent. Fire Point operates from 83 factories within Ukraine plus one facility in Denmark, employing 6,000 personnel compared to 3,500 late last year.
Terekh stated that recent attacks using Fire Point munitions occur daily at rates between five and 15 operations on average. A Flamingo strike on a Russian military components factory near Cheboksary in June traveled approximately 1,800 kilometers from its launch point, representing among the longest recorded cruise missile flight distances. The company is developing Ukraine’s first ballistic missiles, with initial launches targeted for later this year.
Fire Point is also collaborating on the Freyja initiative, an international effort involving Ukraine and nine other European nations to develop an alternative air defense system to the Patriot. The company will manufacture launchers and interceptors with a target cost of $1 million per interceptor. Terekh emphasized that global Patriot production capacity cannot meet current demand, with worldwide Pac-3 missile output at 600-700 annually while consumption in the Middle East reaches that volume within two weeks. Technology testing for the Freyja system is targeted for July next year.
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