FP-5 Flamingo boosts Ukraine’s deep-strike capability against Russian targets
August 20, 2025
Ukraine has unveiled a new type of domestically produced long-range heavy cruise missile called the FP-5 Flamingo. The missile provides Ukraine with a significant leap in range and payload capability for deep strikes on Russia.
Ukraine reveals new heavy cruise missile
Respected open-source analyst H I Sutton stated the FP-5 Flamingo will help close the gap with Russia, depending on the targets and survivability. He noted its warhead is around 10-20 times larger than other types.
Ukraine has developed numerous one-way attack drones (OWA-UAVs). But these have shorter ranges of around 2,000 km, can be spoofed, and carry smaller payloads. It remains to be seen if the Flamingo will prove effective against sprawling Russian drone factories and other targets too big for drones with diminutive warheads.
The Flamingo is built by the Ukrainian company Fire Point and has a reported six-meter wingspan and a length of 12-14 meters, excluding the pitot tube. The missile is launched from a truck-mounted short rail.
Ukraine's FP-5 'Flamingo' cruise missile has a reported range of 3,000km and a warhead of 1,000kg. This makes it much longer ranged and harder hitting than other reported types. It can logically hit targets in Russia other Ukrainian systems cannot
— H I Sutton (@CovertShores) August 17, 2025
The general concept is sensible pic.twitter.com/DTeqPOrY3l
The subsonic missile features a take-off weight of 6,000 kg, an endurance of four hours, and carries a one-tonne warhead. It is also claimed to be GPS/GNSS jam-resistant. For comparison, the US Tomahawk cruise missile weighs around 1,500 kg and has an unclassified range of over 1,700 km.
Ukraine’s rapid re-development of missiles
The development of advanced cruise missiles should come as little surprise. After the dissolution of the USSR, Ukraine had a large stockpile of cruise and ballistic missiles, but gave it up in 1994 during the Budapest Memorandum in exchange for security guarantees from Russia, the USA, and the UK.
Ukraine is regarded as one of only five countries capable of designing and producing jet engines. Ukraine produces the turbojet engines for Turkey’s new advanced Kızılelma uncrewed aircraft and China’s Hongdu JL-10 (Hongdu L-15 Falcon) advanced trainer/light fighter.
Shortly before the war, Ukraine brought its domestically produced R-360 Neptune anti-ship missile into service. To the surprise of many, Ukraine hit and sank the Moskva, the Russian Black Sea Fleet flagship. The missile has since been adapted for a ground attack mission, with its range extended from 200 km to the “Long Neptune” with a claimed range of 1,000 km in 2023.
According to Deputy Defense Minister Ivan Gavrilyuk Ukraine is working on a new modification of the Neptune missile with an extended range of 400 km (versus 300 km of the anti-ship version) and increased warhead – 350 kg (versus 150 kg).
— (((Tendar))) (@Tendar) December 4, 2023
Source: https://t.co/9AvmFC1bjN#Ukraine pic.twitter.com/6d8LzD1ZNC
The Neptune is powered by a Ukrainian Motor Sich MS400 turbofan. It’s unclear if this is the engine powering the Flamingo. The Flamingo’s turbojet is mounted above the aft fuselage.
FP-5 Flamingo claimed resemblance to other missiles
Following its appearance online, there was no shortage of comparisons to older German, American, and Soviet missiles. Some compared it to the original German WWII V-1 Flying Bomb. Although similarities are superficial and simplistic.
Others compared it to the Soviet Tupolev Tu-141 Strizh and Tupolev Tu-143 Reys reconnaissance drones. Notably, old stockpiles of both of these drones have been repurposed by Ukraine during the war as makeshift cruise missiles.
Others, like United24, drew comparisons to the 1950s-1970s-era US-built MGM-13 Mace, which had been developed from the earlier MGM-1 Matador.
The first footage of testing and combat use of the Ukrainian "Flamingo" cruise missile.
— WarTranslated (@wartranslated) August 18, 2025
This is the FP-5 missile by Milanion Group, a project that was presented in February this year.
Main characteristics of the FP-5 missile:
▫️warhead: 1,000 kg;
▫️total weight: 6 tons;
▫️speed:… pic.twitter.com/TsTrE9XFWn
There is only a passing resemblance to these missiles, and the Flamingo is a new design. The nature of physics dictates which physical shapes work. The FP-5 Flamingo is the shape that works for a heavy, ground-launched cruise missile intended for mass production.
