Ukraine's Flamingo missile maker promises FP-9 ballistics will reach Moscow
Ukraine's most famous missile maker start-up is trialing a new ballistic weapon that the firm claims will reach Moscow by the end of the summer.
In a March 9 interview with Army TV, Denys Shtilierman, the principle owner and chief engineer of Fire Point, touted the future stats of the FP-7 and FP-9, in turn short and long-range ballistic missiles that the company initially announced in September.
Fire Point is the maker of the FP-1, likely the most popular deep-strike drone in Ukraine's arsenal, as well as the FP-5 Flamingo cruise missile.
A sticking point for all of Ukraine's deep-strike weaponry has been that Russia has effectively ringed Moscow and St. Petersburg with air defense systems. Drones and even cruise missiles almost never get through, a problem that Shtilierman acknowledged even as the maker of both.
"The FP-9 will be able to strike targets in Moscow easily because it has a very high speed of impact," Shtilierman said. "For example, the Iskander has a speed of about 800 meters per second. At that speed it hits.
"Ours will hit at over 1,200, so we'll overcome anti-air defenses noticeably easier. Yes, something will get in the way, but 25% or something like that will get through and hit the target."
Shtilierman recently published videos of the launch of the FP-7. In the more recent interview, when asked as to the current stage of their development of ballistics he said "we'll be testing them on the neighbors shortly."
Of the longer-range and heavier-hitting FP-9, Shtilierman had previously indicated hopes to have functional models ready by June 2026.
One of the biggest winners of Ukraine's wartime defense spending, Fire Point's history is not without controversy. The firm began a press tour across Europe last summer touting its Flamingo missile, with claimed range, payload, accuracy and production figures that far exceeded any demonstrable impact on the battlefield.
The Kyiv Independent reported in August that the firm was facing an anti-corruption probe, the first public mention of Shtilierman in association with Fire Point. Shtilierman publicly came out as the majority owner of Fire Point in November, explaining financial ties to a network surrounding Timur Mindich as personal rather than via his deep-strike company.
More recently, however, an increasing number of Flamingo missiles are popping up throughout Russia, in welcome news both for the firm and for Ukraine's overall defense.
