Ukraine’s Flamingo missile cost and output
Ukraine’s Fire Point designer said the Flamingo missile costs about $500k versus Russia’s ~$700k Iskander‑M and is being produced at roughly three units per day, scaling with in‑house rocket engines reported. That gap highlights how focused industrial processes and domestic propulsion can change cost curves in tactical missile programs.
Denys Shtilerman, Fire Point’s co‑founder and chief designer, made the production and cost remarks during an on‑camera interview on the ProUA channel on March 14, 2026. (newsukraine.rbc.ua) The Flamingo’s cruise stage runs on Ivchenko AI‑25 family turbofan engines, a Soviet‑era type Fire Point has been refurbishing and integrating into the airframe. (aerospaceglobalnews.com) Fire Point has moved from pure refurbishment toward licensed local manufacture, filing plans and establishing a new plant to produce AI‑25‑type engines and engine parts domestically. (militarnyi.com) Public production planning lists a serial target of about 210 Flamingos per month, while published specifications show the FP‑5 at roughly a 3,000 km range with a ~1,150 kg warhead. (en.wikipedia.org) The Ukrainian Armed Forces publicly accepted an early batch of Flamingos this December, with Associated Press–verified photos documenting the handover. (thedefensepost.com) Separately, Ukraine’s National Anti‑Corruption Bureau opened an inquiry into Fire Point over alleged misstatements on pricing and delivery schedules, according to a Kyiv Independent investigation. (kyivindependent.com) Reporting from multiple outlets describes a deliberate Fire Point procurement effort to secure large stocks of AI‑25 engines abroad as part of a wider industrial strategy that preceded the missile’s public debut. (ghanaaviationnews.com)
