Fire Point Ceo: Ukrainian Flamingo Missiles Cost Six Times Less Than Tomahawks

Ukraine's domestically produced Flamingo cruise missiles cost six times less than U.S.-made Tomahawks. Fire Point chief executive Iryna Terekh said this in an interview with The Guardian, according to Ukrinform. Flamingo missiles, which can carry 1,150 kilograms of explosive, enough to penetrate concrete walls, were used to attack a Russian military components factory at Cheboksary in June, more than 950 kilometers from Kharkiv, in Ukraine's north-east.

According to Terekh, their actual flight distance was among "the longest recorded in the history of cruise missile missions, at about 1,800 kilometers because of the complexity of the flight path. She added that each Flamingo costs a little under $600,000, cheaper than a U.S. Tomahawk, which cost approximately $3.5 million. The company's CEO also spoke about long-range drones.

In particular, the lighter FP-1 drones, which have a range of more than 1,600 kilometers, are used to attack less well defended Russian oil refineries in a campaign that has cut their production by 20% and led to long queues at petrol pumps. Terekh added that the drones cost between $55,000 and $75,000. According to her, Fire Point now operates from 83 factories inside Ukraine, plus another in Denmark, employing 6,000 people, up from 3,500 late last year. Fire Point is also developing Ukraine's first ballistic missiles, which Terekh hopes will be first launched by the end of the year.

A variant of the short-range FP-7, meanwhile, will form the basis of the separate Freyja initiative, an international effort aimed at creating an alternative air defense system to the U.S. Patriot, involving Ukraine and nine other European countries. Fire Point will make the launchers and interceptors, with a target cost of $1 million per interceptor."