The British magazine The Economist published an article about the Ukrainian Flamingo cruise missile, recently presented by the Fire Point company. The publication notes that this weapon “looks too good to be true” and cites a number of doubts expressed by experts and competitors.
The article says that there are rumors surrounding Fire Point about its possible proximity to the Office of the President, non-competitive financing, and doubts about the true origin of the rocket. The company itself denies all of this.
Competitors point to the technical shortcomings of the Flamingo. In particular, the missile is bulky and gains altitude sharply after launch, which makes it visible to enemy radars. Experts predict that a significant percentage of such missiles will be intercepted. One of the interlocutors even ironically says that “at the full range of the flight, a Russian pilot will have enough time for a smoke break.”
The magazine also draws attention to the external similarity of the Flamingo to the British-Emirati missile "FP5", presented in February at an exhibition in the UAE. It is not known exactly how Fire Point is related to this company, but it has already been confirmed that the British partner supplies weapons to Ukraine. Fire Point representatives refused to comment on these connections, citing security issues.
Fire Point insists that the rocket is a Ukrainian development, created “from a sketch on a napkin in late 2024.” The company’s engineers, they say, were inspired by historical models — the German V-1 and the Soviet Strizh. The magazine suggests that the Flamingo uses an AI-25 turbofan engine manufactured by Motor Sich.
The speed of the missile's launch into mass production — just nine months, compared to years or even decades — was particularly sceptical, and the project was led by a management team with no defence experience.
The Economist notes that while some production may take place overseas, the company claims that more than 90% of the final assembly is carried out at secret facilities in Ukraine. Fire Point acknowledges that the missile has not yet been widely used, but is convinced that “the enemy will be shocked when it does.”
Earlier it became known that NABU opened criminal proceedings against Fire Point for supplying drones to the Armed Forces of Ukraine at inflated prices. The media also reported on the company's possible ties with businessman Timur Mindych, who is considered close to President Zelensky.
