{"id":61893,"date":"2025-11-16T20:15:39","date_gmt":"2025-11-16T19:15:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/?p=61893"},"modified":"2025-11-24T19:12:27","modified_gmt":"2025-11-24T18:12:27","slug":"the-design-and-operation-of-the-ukrainian-fire-point-fp-5-flamingo-cruise-missile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/2025\/11\/16\/the-design-and-operation-of-the-ukrainian-fire-point-fp-5-flamingo-cruise-missile\/","title":{"rendered":"The design and operation of the Ukrainian Fire Point FP-5 Flamingo cruise missile"},"content":{"rendered":"

The large-scale invasion launched by Russia on February 24, 2022, is now being met with a powerful Ukrainian weapon.<\/p>\n

The powerful cruise missile used by Russia to attack a children's hospital in Ukraine<\/a><\/rel>
\nThe performance and armament of the Gripen E, the excellent Swedish fighter that Ukraine wants<\/a><\/rel><\/p>\n

In August 2025, Ukraine unveiled the Fire Point FP-5 Flamingo cruise missile<\/a>, with a range of 3,000 kilometers<\/strong> which far exceeds the capabilities of Western missiles such as the American Tomahawk (2,500 km), the Franco-British Storm Shadow (550 km), and the German Taurus (500 km). The President of Ukraine indicated that mass production will begin this winter<\/a>, with plans to manufacture 210 units per month<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n
The takeoff of an FP-5 Flamingo with its rocket motor. This detaches once the missile is already in flight, at which point the Soviet-made Ivchenko AI-25 turbofan engine ignites. (Photo: Fire Point).<\/div>\n

Manufactured by the Ukrainian firm Fire Point, the FP-5 Flamingo missile bears a strong resemblance to the German V-1 flying bomb<\/strong> of World War II, a design already imitated by the Soviet Union with its Tu-141 and Tu-143 reconnaissance drones. The FP-5 takes off with the assistance of a rocket that detaches once in flight.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n
The Soviet Ivchenko AI-25 turbofan engine used by the FP-5 Flamingo (Photo: Karol Placha Hetman).<\/div>\n

The missile has two small wings and four stabilizers on its tail. Once in flight, the FP-5 is powered by an Ivchenko AI-25 turbofan engine<\/strong>, a Soviet design from the 1960s of which more than 9,000 units were manufactured and which was used in various aircraft of the Soviet bloc, including the Czechoslovakian Aero L-39 Albatros trainer<\/strong> and the Soviet Yakovlev Yak-40 commercial airliner.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n
The Associated Press published a series of photos in August of the secret plant where the FP-5 Flamingo missiles are manufactured (Photo: AP Photo\/Efrem Lukatsky).<\/div>\n

Fire Point obtained thousands of those old aircraft engines from a junkyard in Ukraine<\/strong>, leading some media outlets to claim that the FP-5 is a missile made from scrap metal. The warhead used by the FP-5 is a well-known American aerial bomb, the Mark 84<\/strong>, which carries 429 kg of Tritonal. It is a bomb with significant penetration power.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n
Ukraine plans to manufacture up to 210 units of this cruise missile per month (Photo: AP Photo\/Efrem Lukatsky).<\/div>\n

The FP-5 has a carbon fiber fuselage and is equipped with a GPS guidance system and an inertial navigation system<\/strong>, allowing it to fly at low altitudes and take advantage of terrain features to evade detection by Russian radar. It is a low-cost missile specifically designed to bypass Russian defenses and destroy targets at a great distance from the front<\/strong>, including military installations and oil refineries. If Ukraine achieves mass production, this missile could cripple Russia's economy and arms stores.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n
Due to its aircraft turbofan engine and its warhead, a Mark 84 bomb, the FP-5 Flamingo is larger than Western cruise missiles such as the Tomahawk, Storm Shaw, and Taurus. It also has a much greater range than those missiles. (Photo: AP Photo\/Efrem Lukatsky).<\/div>\n

Ukraine first used these missiles in late August<\/a> in an attack against Russian military installations in occupied Crimea. Yesterday, AiTelly<\/a> published a video explaining the design and operation of this cruise missile:<\/strong><\/p>\n