Ukrainian missile makes Russian troops jittery as their air defenses fall
Russian air defense system (Photo: Getty Images)
On the night of February 12, the Armed Forces of Ukraine carried out an effective strike on a Russian GRU arsenal near Kotluban. This is the second officially confirmed use of the FP-5 Flamingo cruise missile, according to a publication by Defence Express.
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The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that the strike on the Main Missile and Artillery Directorate’s storage facility was accompanied by powerful explosions and subsequent secondary detonations.
The official report states: “Powerful explosions were recorded on the facility’s territory, followed by secondary detonations.”
Local authorities conducted the evacuation of the Kotluban settlement, approximately one kilometer from the facility.
This is already the second episode in which the use of the FP-5 Flamingo has been officially confirmed.
The missile’s name was first mentioned in reports about a series of January strikes on the Kapustin Yar testing range, where the infrastructure for preparing medium-range missile launches was reportedly targeted.
Possible missile upgrade
The repeated successful strikes on protected facilities may indicate a missile upgrade.
Earlier reports suggested plans to equip the FP-5 with a low-altitude flight system. The most likely solution is to integrate TERCOM, a terrain contour-matching technology for navigation.
Flying at a lower altitude allows the cruise missile to stay out of the detection zone of ground-based radars, while autonomous navigation enhances its resistance to electronic warfare.
The fact that both targeted facilities are located in the same region, approximately 120 km apart, may indicate insufficient air defense reinforcement in the area.
Ukrainian forces have carried out a series of precision strikes on strategic military targets within Russian territory. Among the targets were the arsenal near Kotluban in the Volgograd region and a missile industry facility in Michurinsk, reflecting the expansion of strikes against key enemy infrastructure.
Additionally, following the Ukrainian Flamingo missile strike on the Russian Kapustin Yar testing range, facilities related to the maintenance of ballistic missiles were disabled, along with a number of technical structures that support the operation of this infrastructure.
