New Ukrainian Missile Flamingo Raises Questions of Foreign Origin

A photograph published by Associated Press photographer Efrem Lukatsky shows Ukraine’s new cruise missile, known as the Flamingo. The missile is reportedly capable of striking targets at a distance of up to 3,000 kilometers, and according to Lukatsky, it has already entered serial production. The image was taken at a Ukrainian defense plant just days ago, with speculation that the missile is being produced by the company Fire Point.

Missile Resembles Soviet Tu-143 Drone

Judging by the photos, the Flamingo features a straight wing, four stabilizers, and a large air intake on top of the fuselage — strongly resembling the Soviet Tu-143 Reis reconnaissance drone. Kyiv began reactivating these drones in 2014. Analysts suggest that the Tu-143 could have served as a starting point for the Flamingo’s design. The Soviet drone could carry around 150 kilograms of payload and had a range of 180 kilometers, far less than the Flamingo’s claimed 3,000 km.

Possible Link to British FP-5 Missile

Other experts believe the Flamingo may not be an entirely Ukrainian design. According to the Telegram channel Two Majors, the missile could actually be the British-made FP-5, produced by Milanion Group Ltd. The FP-5 was showcased at the IDEX-2025 exhibition in Abu Dhabi and is designed as a ground-to-ground cruise missile with a 3,000 km range, a 6-meter wingspan, and the capacity to carry up to 1,000 kilograms of payload.

Western Assistance in Development?

“In principle, [Ukraine] could have created such a missile with Western assistance. It certainly poses a danger. Moreover, Ukraine’s leadership is reckless enough to try launching it — if the missile is real, of course.”

Kolesnik stressed that if Ukraine attempted to deploy the Flamingo, Russian intelligence services would likely be able to track down its launch sites and strike them in response.

Can Russian Air Defense Stop the Flamingo?

Available data suggests that the Flamingo lacks stealth technology or advanced countermeasures such as decoy flares, which are used in Russian cruise missiles. Russian air defense forces operating the Tor-M2 and Pantsir-S1 systems have successfully intercepted more advanced Western missiles like the SCALP/Storm Shadow. Analysts therefore believe the Flamingo would not be a particularly difficult target. Still, mass production could allow Kyiv to attempt to compensate for these shortcomings with quantity over quality.

This revelation follows reports earlier in August that Russian strikes disrupted Ukraine’s plans to produce the Sapsan short-range ballistic missile system. According to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), precision strikes hit the Pavlograd Chemical Plant, Pavlograd Mechanical Plant, Shostka’s Zvezda plant, and the Shostka State Research Institute of Chemical Products — facilities believed to be involved in Sapsan missile development.