Ukraine's Flamingo cruise missile outmatches US Tomahawk in range and warhead
Photo: Flight of the Flamingo cruise missile (Fire Point)
The Ukrainian cruise missile Flamingo, now being produced by the company Fire Point, outperforms the American Tomahawk on some measures. It exceeds the Tomahawk in range and warhead size, The Independent reports.
The Flamingo, with a stated range of 3,000 kilometers and a warhead of more than one ton, is one of Ukraine's newest weapons. It uses a Soviet turboprop engine and can fly at about 900 kilometers per hour.
Although the missile combines old Soviet technology with modern developments, it costs roughly the same as the American Tomahawk. It nevertheless outperforms the Tomahawk on range and warhead weight: 3,000 km versus 1,500 km, and 1,100 kg versus 500 kg.
Another advantage is that these missiles are controlled exclusively by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Allies cannot limit their use against targets deep inside Russia, as the US did with ATACMS and France and Britain did with Storm Shadow.
"In contrast, Kyiv can fire the Flamingo at any target it wants. It is not restricted by what Ukraine's 'allies' say it can and cannot do when fighting Russia's invading forces," The Independent writes.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine now produces more than 60% of its long-range weapons domestically. Fire Point representatives say the missile may not meet some standards, but no one cares.
"When you have a gun being pointed towards your head, you don't think about standards, you think that 'this should be working.' We didn't care that we met NATO standards. We only cared that our weapons would be effective on the front line, not on some paperwork. We could, as a result, make a very effective weapon," the chief technology officer of Fire Point said.
Long-range weapons of Ukraine: The Flamingo missile
In September, President Zelenskyy said Ukraine was actively developing long-range weapons. The latest tests were successful, and the next stage is serial production.
Ukraine has begun serial production of the Flamingo cruise missile with a range of up to 3,000 kilometers. Zelenskyy said mass production will begin by the end of the year.
The Flamingo's publicly stated technical specifications:
- Range: 3,000 km;
- Time in flight: more than 4 hours;
- Maximum speed: 950 km/h;
- Cruise speed: 850–900 km/h;
- Wingspan: 6 m;
- Maximum takeoff weight: 6 tons;
- Warhead weight: 1 ton.
Zelenskyy also said Ukraine has used the Flamingo in nine strikes so far. He called it the current best Ukrainian cruise missile.
