Ukraine Uses New 6-Ton Flamingo Missile in Deep Strike on Russia

Ukraine has used its domestically developed FP-5 Flamingo cruise missile in a major long-range strike against targets in Russia, marking another step in Kyiv’s effort to expand its ability to attack deep behind Russian lines.

The Flamingo, developed by Ukrainian defence company Fire Point, is a large ground-launched cruise missile with a reported launch weight of about 6 tonnes. Its reported warhead is around 1,000 to 1,150 kilograms, while its claimed range is approximately 3,000 kilometres.

Ukrainian forces reportedly deployed Flamingo missiles alongside a large number of drones during a September 20 attack targeting Moscow and other parts of Russia.

Russian authorities reported a major wave of Ukrainian drones, while Ukrainian officials confirmed the use of domestically produced long-range weapons. Reports said explosions and fires affected infrastructure around Moscow, including an oil-refining facility. Independent verification of some battlefield claims and the full extent of the damage remains limited.

The attack demonstrates the growing importance of Ukraine’s domestic long-range weapons programme as Kyiv seeks to reduce its dependence on Western-supplied missiles.

The FP-5 is frequently compared with the American Tomahawk because both are long-range cruise missiles, but the two systems have significantly different designs and specifications.

The Flamingo is reported to weigh around 6,000 kilograms and carry roughly a one-tonne warhead. Open-source reporting puts the Tomahawk’s weight at roughly 1,500 kilograms, with a warhead commonly reported at around 450–500 kilograms. The Flamingo is also reported to have a range of approximately 3,000 kilometres, compared with roughly 1,600–1,700 kilometres for commonly cited Tomahawk variants.

These figures mean the Flamingo has a larger reported payload and longer claimed range than many commonly cited Tomahawk specifications. However, that does not necessarily mean it is universally “more powerful.” Cruise missiles can differ substantially in guidance, accuracy, survivability, reliability, electronic-warfare resistance and other capabilities that cannot be captured by warhead size alone.

The Flamingo is part of a broader Ukrainian effort to develop and manufacture long-range strike weapons domestically. Fire Point is also developing the FP-7 and FP-9 missile systems, with the FP-7 intended to provide a domestically produced ballistic-missile capability and the FP-9 being developed for longer-range strikes.

The development of these weapons gives Ukraine additional options for striking military and strategic targets at considerable distances without relying entirely on weapons supplied by its allies. The latest Flamingo strikes therefore represent not only another attack on Russian territory but also a demonstration of Ukraine’s expanding domestic long-range missile programme.