Ukraine already attacking russia with Flamingo cruise missiles - The Economist

Ukraine has begun using Flamingo cruise missiles to strike energy facilities in russia and oil refineries. This is reported by The Economist.

The Economist article says that the Flamingo is manufactured using recycled Soviet-era turbofan engines. At the same time, the carbon fiber fuselage takes only six hours to make. They are much faster than drones, fly at an altitude of only 50 meters above the ground, have a range of over 3000 km, and inflict enormous damage with a warhead weighing 1150 kg.

Fire Point is currently producing 2-3 Flamingo missiles per day, but production is expected to increase to seven per day this month.

"If the FP-5 proves capable of penetrating Russian air defenses, it will bring Ukraine's DeepStrike campaign to a new level of destructive power. Its range allows it to deceive air defenses by flying to the target on constantly changing vectors," the article says.

The publication also cites the key characteristics of the Flamingo missile:

• Flight range: More than 3000 km. Such a range allows the missile to "deceive the defense by flying along constantly changing vectors to its target," the publication writes.

• Flight altitude: Only 50 meters above the ground, making them difficult to detect.

• Warhead: Weighs 1150 kg, which provides a powerful impact.

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• Cost: Approximately USD 500,000 per unit. For comparison, the US Tomahawk missile is four times more expensive, has a shorter range and carries a smaller payload.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) has denied media reports of an alleged investigation into the Flamingo cruise missile manufactured by Fire Point. The Bureau emphasized that the inspection, if conducted, does not concern this weapon.

On August 17, Ukrainian Associated Press photographer Yefrem Lukatskyi said that Ukraine has launched the serial production of new Flamingo cruise missiles with a range of up to 3000 kilometers.

On August 18, Fire Point showed the first tests of the Ukrainian Flamingo missile.