Flamingo Missile: Ukraine's FP-5 Cruise Missile in Combat

What the Flamingo Missile Is and Whether It Has Been Used

The Flamingo, also designated FP-5, is a cruise missile built in Ukraine and used in combat against Russia. Fire Point, the company that also builds the FP-1 long-range attack drone, makes it. The War Zone (TWZ) says a rocket booster launches the missile from a rail on a two-axle trailer, and a single jet engine powers it after that.

Ukraine's General Staff first acknowledged Flamingo use on 13 November 2025, though media reports of hits go back to 30 August 2025. The missile has since been linked to strikes on a test site, an arsenal, two plants and a space rocket centre inside Russia. AP says early versions came out pink after a factory error, and the name stuck.

Every figure below comes from Fire Point, a brochure from Milanion (a company based in the United Arab Emirates, or UAE), or media reporting. No official Ukrainian specification sheet has been published. Militarnyi reports the missile currently uses the Soviet-designed AI-25 turbojet, an engine built for the L-39 Albatros.

Reported Flamingo Strikes by Date

The earliest reported Flamingo strike hit a Federal Security Service (FSB) base near Armyansk, Crimea, on 30 August 2025. Kyiv Post, citing Militarnyi, said at least three missiles hit, likely launched from Odesa region. Telegram claims of six destroyed or damaged hovercraft did not show in low-resolution Copernicus imagery, and the Russian outlet Astra suggested the weapon may have been a Long Neptune.

On 13 November 2025 the General Staff said it hit "several dozen" Russian facilities overnight, in what Kyiv Post called the first official acknowledgment of the Flamingo, Bars and Liutyi. Kyiv Post could not verify Telegram claims that wreckage in Oryol came from a Flamingo.

About a week before 12 February 2026, at least four FP-5s were launched at Kapustin Yar, where Russia assembles and tests the Oreshnik, according to Euromaidan Press. Observers called the damage relatively minor. On 12 February the General Staff said Flamingos hit a GRAU arsenal near Kotluban, Volgograd Oblast, which it called "one of the largest ammunition storage sites for the Russian army."

On 20 February 2026 Flamingos partly destroyed a building at the Votkinsk plant in Udmurtia, where Iskander-M missiles are built, the Kyiv Independent reported. Of five missiles fired at the Titan-Barrikady plant in Volgograd overnight on 26 to 27 June 2026, geolocated images show three hit. Governor Andrey Bocharov said at least 10 people were injured.

Zelensky later said Flamingos struck the Progress Space Rocket Centre in Samara, about 900 km from the border.

Flamingo Missile Performance Claims by Publisher

Fire Point claims a 3,000 km range for the Flamingo, the figure AP, TWZ and UNITED24 all repeat. AP adds a 1,150 kg payload and accuracy within 14 m. AP also says independent experts call it one of the largest such missiles in the world.

Warhead figures differ by publisher. AP, TWZ and UNITED24 give 1,150 kg, Euromaidan Press gives "over 1,000 kg", and the Kyiv Independent and the Milanion FP-5 brochure give 1,000 kg. TWZ says the pointed warhead may be a repurposed air-dropped bomb meant for harder targets, and Kyiv Post says designers use Soviet-era aviation bombs.

Speed claims also differ. The Milanion brochure lists a 950 km/h top speed and an 850 to 900 km/h cruise speed, while Fire Point claimed 1,500 km/h in February 2026, per Euromaidan Press. Russian media, cited by blue News, reported one intercepted Flamingo flying at about 600 km/h.

TWZ says the Flamingo's reported capabilities "align extremely closely" with Milanion's FP-5, which lists a 6 m wingspan and 6,000 kg maximum takeoff weight. TWZ says the relationship between the two companies is unknown.

Production Targets and Engine Supply

Fire Point's Flamingo production targets are claims, and no source confirms any of them was reached. Production head Iryna Terekh told AP in August 2025 that Fire Point built roughly one missile per day and aimed for seven per day by October 2025. TWZ calculated that seven a day would equal 2,555 missiles a year.

Kyiv Post says Fire Point executives projected about 30 missiles a month in late 2025, rising to more than 200 by the end of 2026. Seven a day works out to about 210 a month (7 x 30), seven times that late-2025 projection.

Zelensky said in mid-February 2026 that Russian strikes on a Fire Point facility set production back. Militarnyi says more than 6,000 AI-25s were made in the Soviet period, and UNITED24 says Fire Point sources its turbofans from scrap yards. Chief designer Denys Shtilerman has said Fire Point developed its own turbojet and is "assembling the first 10 test samples," according to Militarnyi.

Flamingo Hit Rate and Shoot-Down Claims

TWZ said the Flamingo appears to have no signature control and is "far from immune to interception." Fabian Hoffmann of Oslo University argues it is highly visible to radar because it lacks stealth features and has a top-mounted engine.

Others question the concept itself. The Telegraph's Lewis Page called it "essentially just a faster drone," and an observer named Thorkill called it "a certain marketing-propaganda hoax," per Euromaidan Press. The Kyiv Independent wrote in February 2026 that the missile's navigation, accuracy and vulnerability to interception are poorly understood.

Shtilerman has given his own account of the misses. blue News quotes him saying the missiles cannot yet fly as low as intended because Ukraine lacks accurate terrain maps of Russia.

Kyiv Post's tally of about 34 launches and five credible hits before June 2026 is a hit rate of roughly 15 percent (5 of 34). By the same count, Russia downed four of five on 4 May and three of five at Cheboksary on 10 June. Russia's separate claims of a Buk intercept in October 2025 and a shoot-down over Chuvashia in February 2026 are unverified.

Flamingo vs the FP-1 Drone

The Flamingo is a jet-powered cruise missile, and the FP-1 is a one-way attack drone from the same company. The Fire Point FP-1 carries a 60 to 105 kg warhead depending on version and costs about $50,000 to $55,000. The Flamingo carries 1,000 to 1,150 kg. Kyiv Post estimates its cost at $500,000 to $1 million.

On those figures the Flamingo carries roughly 11 times the FP-1's largest reported warhead (1,150 kg against 105 kg). It costs about 9 to 18 times as much ($500,000 or $1 million against $55,000). UNITED24 says sales of the FP-1 and FP-2 funded the Flamingo's development.

Fire Point claims FP-1 output of 100 to 200 a day, against roughly one Flamingo a day in August 2025. Zelensky said in June 2026 that upgraded FP drones can now reach targets at distances of 3,000 km, matching the Flamingo's claimed range. The drone side of the arsenal is covered in Ukrainian long-range drones and in FP-1 vs Shahed.

Fire Point Ownership and the NABU Probe

Fire Point is registered in Ukraine and says it is owned by its co-founders, and none of the reports cited here mentions a stock listing. Co-owner Denys Shtilerman told a parliamentary commission that Fire Point is valued at over $2.5 billion, according to LIGA.net. Fire Point is one of the firms profiled in Ukrainian drone companies.

Shtilerman confirmed at a press conference, reported by Suspilne and relayed by Babel, that Timur Mindich and others offered to buy 50 percent of Fire Point, and that the founders declined.

Shtilerman has linked a space-launch program to UAE-based Edge Group taking a $750 million stake, which Ukrainian regulators are reportedly examining, per the Kyiv Independent. Defense News reports that Mike Pompeo joined Fire Point's advisory board in November.

The Kyiv Independent reported in August 2025 that the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) was investigating whether Fire Point inflated the value of drone components or the number of drones delivered. Fire Point confirmed a probe exists but denied the accusations. Babel reports NABU and the anti-corruption prosecutor's office (SAPO) said no investigation into Flamingo missiles was underway.

Defense News reports that no charges have been filed against Fire Point. Fire Point denies that Mindich holds any stake.

What Is Not Published About the Flamingo Missile

Range, warhead, speed and accuracy all come from Fire Point, the Milanion brochure or media reporting. Actual production totals, current monthly output and a unit price from Fire Point or the Defence Ministry are also unpublished.

The link between Fire Point and Milanion is unclear. blue News, citing Defense Express, says the Flamingo appeared at the IDEX 2025 show as a Milanion project while Fire Point bought old AI-25 engines under that cover. TWZ says the relationship is unknown.

Independent damage assessments exist for few strikes beyond satellite imagery and official Ukrainian claims, and the Armyansk hovercraft losses rest on Telegram channels. For the wider strike campaign, the Ukraine-Russia war hub tracks the systems in use. Before citing any Flamingo missile figure, match it to the publisher named in the spec table and treat Fire Point numbers as claims until a government specification appears.