Ukraine’s Flamingo missile boasts greater range and payload than U.S. Tomahawk
Ukraine has developed a new cruise missile, the FP-5 Flamingo, which in several respects surpasses the American Tomahawk.
According to Ukrinform, The Independent reports this.
“The latest innovation is a cruise missile with a range of 3,000 km, a maximum speed of 900 kmph and a payload of over a tonne, which has been used in strikes deep into Russian territory,” the article says.
According to the newspaper, the missile is fully controlled by Ukraine’s Armed Forces and is free of any restrictions from Western partners regarding its use.
The Flamingo is powered by a Soviet-era turbofan jet engine — some of which were “dug out of landfill dumps,” the report notes.
The FP-5 Flamingo has twice the range of the American Tomahawk and carries twice as much explosive, yet costs roughly the same.
A key advantage is independence: the UK and France restricted the use of the Anglo-French Storm Shadow cruise missiles to Russian targets inside Ukraine for many months while the U.S. reduced the ability of Ukraine to use American ATACM missiles against Russian targets in Russia.
“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 newspaper emphasizes.
Prototype Flamingo missiles were painted pink to make them easier to locate during test flights.
As reported, on Thursday President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine is now successfully using the Neptune and Flamingo missiles in tandem.
Photo: defence-ua