Ukrainian startup produces hundreds of cruise missiles for deep strikes into Russia
Fire Point, a Ukrainian arms company, manufactures about 100 long-range Flamingo cruise missiles per month and hundreds of drones, enabling the military to carry out deep strikes inside Russian territory.
Mass production and deep strikes
Ukraine's leading arms company, Fire Point, produces about 100 long-range Flamingo cruise missiles per month, each capable of carrying a 1,150 kg warhead and penetrating concrete walls. These missiles are used to attack targets hundreds of miles inside Russia. In June, they struck a Russian military components factory in Cheboksary, over 600 miles from Kharkiv. The flight distance, at about 1,800 km (1,118 miles), was among the longest recorded for cruise missile missions due to the complex flight path.
CEO Iryna Terekh stated that almost no deep strike attack in recent months has occurred without Fire Point products. Daily missile and drone attacks average five to fifteen. Besides the Flamingo, the company manufactures FP-1 and FP-2 fixed-wing drones at a rate of "hundreds per day." The FP-1 drones, with a range of over 1,000 miles, are used to attack poorly defended Russian oil refineries, cutting their production by 20% and causing long queues at petrol pumps.
Each Flamingo costs just under $600,000, significantly cheaper than a U.S. Tomahawk (approx. $3.5 million). FP-1 drones cost between $55,000 and $75,000.
Company growth and future plans
Founded in 2022 after the war began, Fire Point has grown rapidly: it now operates 83 factories in Ukraine and one in Denmark, employing 6,000 people (up from 3,500 late last year). Terekh emphasizes that this demonstrates the maturation of Ukraine's domestic defense industry, finally providing long-range capabilities that the West earlier denied.
Fire Point is also developing Ukraine's first ballistic missiles, with an expected first launch by the end of the year. A variant of the short-range FP-7 will form the basis of the Freyja initiative, an international effort involving Ukraine and nine European countries to create an alternative air defense system to the U.S. Patriot. Fire Point will manufacture launchers and interceptors, with a target cost of $1 million per interceptor.
Ben Hodges, a former U.S. Army commander in Europe, noted that Ukrainian forces can not only reach deep into Russia with precision and bypass air defenses but also carry a payload large enough to achieve effect. For now, Fire Point's weapons are not exported.
Terekh, who joined the company in summer 2023 when it had only 18 employees, said the firm exemplifies how the Russian invasion has forced Ukraine to modernize. "We do not want to be like a breadbasket any more for the world," she said, referring to Ukraine's historical role in agriculture and post-war ambition to export high-value-added goods.
