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FP-5
As its allies are twisting themselves into knots on how to provide Ukraine with security guarantees, Kyiv has conceived and developed a new weapon able to keep Russia at bay — a new cruise missile that according to Politico is able to hit all of European Russia carrying a massive warhead weighing more than a ton.
That’s the Flamingo FP-5 missile, developed by Ukraine’s Fire Point defense company — a fast-growing producer of the combat drones that have become a key weapon in the war against Russia.
Unveiled on Aug. 18, 2025, the missile is fitted with a 1,150 kg (2,540 lb) warhead and has a range of 3,000 km (1,900 miles). The missile, similar in appearance to the Milanion Group FP-5 cruise missile, is in serial production, targeting 210 units a month.
Ukrainian Flamingo missile Vs American Tomahawk missile
Given its unique capabilities, one may ask if the Ukrainian Flamingo missiles are outperforming American Tomahawk missiles.
Eric Wicklund, former US Navy Operations Specialist, explains on Quora;
‘This is like comparing a machete to a rapier. Two different weapons with very different operational constraints. Let’s consider the pluses and minuses of each.
‘The Flamingo has a larger warhead and a greater range. The Tomahawk is far more accurate and very difficult to intercept because of its flight path. Both have their strengths; both have a specific role to play.
- The outstanding advantage of the Flamingo is that Ukraine is producing it domestically. They can fire it at any target they wish. Foreign designs often come with targeting restrictions.
- “If” Ukraine had Tomahawks, they might be restricted on where they can use them. That’s a downside.
- Ukraine already has Flamingos and they’ve used them operationally.
- Ukraine doesn’t have any Tomahawks and it’s unknown if they’ll ever get them at all.
- Tomahawks are precision instruments and could reliably be used to hit a specific point on a target with only a small chance they’d be intercepted. This means less Tomahawks per target would be required.
Benefits and debits
‘What we can glean from all of this is, both weapons have benefits and debits. If both could be had that would be very good for Ukraine. Thus, we see that Ukraine still wants Tomahawks. The Flamingo is like a machete, a big weapon with great destruction, but at times unwieldy or easily parried.’
Wicklund concludes;
‘The Tomahawk is like a rapier, very precise, a precision instrument for careful work, but harder to find. Machetes are more common. Given a choice, any military commander would want to have both.’
Photo credit: Fire Point and U.S. Navy
