- Category
- Latest news
Ukraine’s Flamingo Cruise Missile Moves Toward Mass Production After Successful Tests
- Authors
![Photo of Vlad Litnarovych]( "Photo of Vlad Litnarovych")
Ukraine is preparing to mass-produce a new long-range cruise missile that officials say could become one of the most powerful weapons in its arsenal—and a symbol of its rapidly advancing defense industry, according to Ukrainian media outlet Babel on August 21.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that successful tests of the missile, known as the Flamingo, have already taken place. He described it as “the most successful weapon in Ukraine’s arsenal to date,” though he declined to reveal further details until the country has hundreds ready for deployment.
👀 Ukraine’s new Flamingo missile was test-fired several months ago, according to ZNUA.
— UNITED24 Media (@United24media) August 18, 2025
The combat trial was successful, with the missile striking its target. With a 1,150 kg warhead and a range of over 3,000 km, it is capable of destroying nearly any target deep inside Russia. pic.twitter.com/VJ58OpLksl
“By December we’ll have more,” Zelenskyy told reporters. “And by the end of December or in January–February, mass production should begin. Everything depends on successful tests and the financing of the program.”
The Associated Press was recently given an inside look at Fire Point—the Ukrainian defense company developing the Flamingo.
Reporters were shown the FP-1 explosive drones that have been striking Russian oil refineries and depots hundreds of miles inside Russian territory, as well as the FP-5 cruise missile now nicknamed the Flamingo.
🇺🇦 Ukrainian FP-5 "Flamingo" missiles.
— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) August 21, 2025
The missile can travel 3,000 km and land within 14 meters of the target and delivering a payload of up to 1,150 kg.
“It’s not much different from a Shaheed”
At least that’s what they claim
1/ pic.twitter.com/zCmsmti0nM
Originally tinted pink due to a factory error, the missile’s first prototypes earned it the unusual name, which has stuck. Despite its playful moniker, the Flamingo is a serious weapon:
Range: 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles)
Payload: up to 1,150 kilograms (2,535 pounds)
Accuracy: within 14 meters (45 feet) of its target
Speed: up to 950 km/h (590 mph)
Currently, Fire Point produces about one Flamingo missile per day, with plans to scale up to seven per day by October.
Founded by a group of friends at the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Fire Point initially set out to build cheap drones that could rival the Iranian-made Shahed drones Russia uses in its war on Ukraine.
The company now manufactures roughly 100 drones daily at a cost of about $55,000 apiece, and has become one of Ukraine’s top defense innovators.
Earlier, reports emerged that Ukraine’s newly unveiled FP-5 “Flamingo” cruise missile stands out for its significant launch weight of around six tons, carrying a one-ton warhead—dimensions that sharply contrast with the current Western trend toward miniaturization.
Ukrainian missile revived the design, used by the US during the Cold War, then the US fielded the MGM-13 Mace, a development of the earlier MGM-1 Matador, both of which were deployed against the Soviet Union between the 1950s and early 1970s.
