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FP-5 Flamingo

Ukrainian cruise missile From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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The FP-5 "Flamingo" (Ukrainian: Фламі́нго, romanized: Flaminho [flɐˈmʲinɦɔ] ⓘ) is a Ukrainian ground-launched cruise missile developed by defence firm Fire Point. Revealed on 18 August 2025, the missile is fitted with a 1,150-kilogram (2,540 lb) warhead and has a range of 3,000 kilometres (1,900 miles). The missile, similar in appearance to the Milanion Group FP-5 cruise missile, is in serial production, targeting 210 units a month.[3][5][4][6]

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Development

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Fire Point, a Ukrainian defence startup founded by a group of friends from non-military backgrounds—including construction, game design, and architecture—began development of the FP-5 "Flamingo" following the 2022 Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine.[4] The missile was first publicly revealed on 17 August 2025 by Associated Press photojournalist Efrem Lukatsky during a test launch at a hidden facility in southern Ukraine.[7] In his address on 20 August 2025, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that serial production had begun and described it as "the most successful missile we have".[6][4][8] The Associated Press reported that the nickname "Flamingo" originated when early production units of the missile had a pink colour due to an error at the factory,[4] but this was denied by Fire Point's CTO.[9] The Economist and Politico on the other hand reported that the name was chosen to highlight the role of women in senior positions at the company, with test prototypes being painted pink to support the name.[8][10]

Reporters and OSINT analysts have noted the striking similarity between the FP-5 Flamingo and the FP-5 missile advertised by defence industry startup Milanion Group at IDEX 2025 (a defence industry conference and expo), with the advertised capabilities, design and even the model number being identical.[11][12][13][14] Milanion Group is a company registered in the United Kingdom,[15] though media reports state it is based in the United Arab Emirates and did business in Ukraine prior to the Russian invasion.[16][17][18] An analyst has described Fire Point as operating under Milanion's umbrella, using Milanions technology and connections to produce the FP-5 locally.[19][12] The Economist assessed that the production process is partially conducted abroad, with Fire Point stating that over 90% of final assembly is done in Ukraine.[10]

According to Ukrinform, the weapon threatens 90 percent of Russia’s arms manufacturing capacities.[20] Possible target categories:

  • Oil refineries and energy infrastructure – Fire Point officials noted their drones and missiles are "partly responsible for airport closures and high gasoline prices in Russia".
  • Military production facilities and weapons depots – described as targets for the missile's 1,150 kg warhead.
  • Command centers and strategic infrastructure – identified as priority targets given the missile's capabilities.
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Design

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The missile has a fixed straight wing and a turbofan jet engine mounted above the fuselage. This gives it a superficial resemblance to the V-1 flying bomb and the Ukrainian-built Soviet Tu-141 and Tu-143 reconnaissance drones, although the V1 used a pulsejet and the Tu-141 and Tu-143 were designed with engines mounted inside the main fuselage. The rear of the fuselage has four flight control surfaces in an X-configuration.[21] The fuselage is primarily built from radar transparent composite materials (fiberglass), whilst the engine nacelle is built from metal in order to withstand high temperatures. The jet engine appears to be the Ivchenko AI-25 produced by Ukrainian manufacturer Motor Sich and historically used for the Aero L-39 Albatros. The engine is significantly larger than those found in comparable cruise missiles.

Flamingo's warhead is claimed to be 2.5 times the weight of the warhead of the American Tomahawk Block V cruise missile, with a stated weight of 1,150 kg (2,540 lb).[5][8][22] According to a Dutch military expert interviewed by UkrInform, Flamingo is a classic aerial bomb converted into a cruise missile by adding a jet engine, fuselage, and wings.[23] The warhead, shown in pictures with the nose cone removed, may be a repurposed FAB-1500 bomb,[7][23][24] but based on the warhead's size the 1,500 kg (3,300 lb) FAB-1500 seems unlikely, with a more likely bomb being either a 2,039-pound (925 kg) Mark 84 high-explosive bomb or a same-weight BLU-109/B bunker buster.[14][25] If the missile uses a conventional gravity bomb, the weight of the warhead would be 925 kg (2,039 lb) but the explosive filler would only be 430 kg (950 lb), more in line with comparable cruise missile systems.[26][27] The Flamingo's claimed range is approximately double the unclassified range of the Tomahawk Block V,[22] allowing it to hit targets anywhere in the European part of Russia and as far as Novosibirsk. The Flamingo missile has not yet been shown to strike targets at this range.

Unlike its Western counterparts, the Flamingo lacks complex visual guidance systems (TERCOM, DSMAC) but still promises a similar speed (900 km/h). The primary means of navigation is by satellite navigation using a jamming-resistant, controlled reception pattern antenna layout. Claimed accuracy is a CEP of 14 m (46 ft) at any range and in ideal conditions. The simplified design is intended to speed production. The main drawbacks compared to the Tomahawk are a longer pre-launch preparation time of 20 to 40 minutes and a takeoff weight that is almost 5 times greater.[4][28][29][30] Ukrainian experts state that Russian air defense will intercept some FP-5 missiles and emphasize the value of combined strikes by multiple weapons types.[20]

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Cost and affordability

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The Czech crowdfunding initiative "Gift for Putin" ("Dárek pro Putina") raised approximately $520,000 (roughly 12.5 million Czech koruna) to purchase a Ukrainian-built Flamingo cruise missile in October 2025.[31] The fundraiser, which was completed in approximately 48 hours after launching on October 22, 2025, was organized to purchase a single missile specifically priced by the manufacturer Fire Point for the campaign.[31] The missile, designated DANA 1 in honor of the late Czech nuclear safety chief Dana Drábová, was to be transferred to the Armed Forces of Ukraine upon completion of payment.[31]

This fundraising campaign provides a concrete cost estimate for individual Flamingo missiles. Multiple independent sources have corroborated similar price points, with estimates ranging from approximately $500,000 to under €1 million ($1.09 million) per unit.[32][33][34] Fire Point spokesperson Iryna Terekh has emphasized that the company "purposefully aimed for low cost" to enable large-scale procurement and potentially massive strike operations.[33]

By comparison, the American Tomahawk cruise missile costs between $1.5 million and $2.5 million per unit depending on the variant, despite having approximately half the range and a significantly smaller warhead than the Flamingo.[34][32][35] The Flamingo's affordability is achieved through simplified design choices, including the use of repurposed Soviet-era AI-25TL turbofan engines from Aero L-39 Albatros jet trainers, a carbon-fiber fuselage that can reportedly be manufactured in six hours, and basic inertial navigation systems that trade some precision for reduced cost.[34]

Production

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Serial production of Flamingo was claimed to have begun in mid-2025, initially at a rate of approximately 30 missiles per month.[6] According to Politico's interview with Fire Point CEO Iryna Terekh, the missile has successfully completed battlefield trials and entered serial production with a target capacity of 210 units monthly by October. Fire Point announced in September 2025 that it had increased production of its Flamingo cruise missile from 30 units per month in August to 50 units per month, with plans to reach seven missiles per day by the end of the year. The company's service manager Iryna Terekh confirmed that the Flamingo had entered serial production, with scaling up being the primary focus for meeting expanded production targets.[36]

The weapon system represents Ukraine's most advanced long-range strike capability.

In September 2025 the Danish government announced that a subsidiary of Fire Point will start production of solid rocket fuel for the Flamingo in Denmark from 1 December 2025.[37][38] Denmark temporarily suspended 20 laws and regulations to open the plant.[39]

Fire Point had purchased a large number of Ivchenko AI-25 from various stockpiles. These engines had a remaining flight time of some 10 hours. Given the engines will not be used in jet aircraft, Fire Point restores them not to full usage but enough for a Flamingo missile's flight time of three and a half hours. Previous media reports said that the engines had been made by Motor Sich. However, Fire Point claimed that they had found "thousands of such engines" at various landfills in Ukraine. These engines, in order to keep costs down, have had the titanium parts replaced by "cheaper and easier-to-produce alternatives" to make them flightworthy. Engines can also be taken from the some six thousand of these engines were manufactured and still in use in aircraft like the L-39 Albatross and Hongdu JL-8 jet trainers across "post-Soviet countries, Asia, and Africa". Fire Point has also established its own plant to produce engines for the missiles, whether this is the Ivchenko AI-25 under licence or not is unclear.

The warhead is also something that Fire Point doesn't manufacture. The current warhead is said to “pierce thick concrete” and can go some ten meters underground. There is a cluster warhead in the works plus “many other types (of warhead)” in development. As of "early September" the rate of production was two missiles a day with work on an automated process that aims to "reach 200 per month by the end of this year".[40][41]

As of 6 October 2025, according to The Economist, Ukraine is already using the Flamingo missile on targets in Russia. Currently Fire Point builds 2-3 missiles a day, the price per missile is apparently $500,000 US. The missile flight altitude is 50 meters.[42]

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Operational history

On 30 August 2025, Ukrainian sources reported that Flamingo missiles were used to target a Federal Security Service outpost in Crimea, in what was described as their first combat use. According to these reports, at least three missiles struck the facility, causing structural damage and reportedly damaging six hovercraft while killing one Russian serviceman.[43][44] Follow-up analysis of satellite imagery showed that one missile directly hit a barracks building, another landed wide of the hovercraft storage area, and a third exploded near some objects east of the facility.[45][46]

On 9 October 2025, Russia and the Ukrainian president confirmed the first use of Flamingo missile, used alongside with the Neptune missile, against targets in Russia.[47]

On 10 October 2025, Russia claimed its first shootdown of two Flamingo missiles; one by a Buk missile launcher. Pictures were supplied, the missile was claimed to have been travelling at 100 metres altitude and a speed of "roughly 600 kilometers per hour".[48]

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See also

Related development

Comparable missiles

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References

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