Ukrainian defense manufacturer Fire Point has acknowledged that its Flamingo cruise missile was more important as a political statement than as a highly effective weapon. The assessment came from company chief Irina Terekh, who explained the reasoning behind the missile’s development.

According to Terekh, the project was primarily intended to demonstrate Kiev’s ability to strike targets deep inside Russian territory. She emphasized that Flamingo’s political significance outweighed its value as a supposed wonder weapon.

Meanwhile, Fire Point chief designer Denis Shtilerman raised questions about the economic viability of using Ukrainian-made ballistic missiles against targets in Russia’s rear areas.

Shtilerman provided figures illustrating the substantial cost difference between ballistic missiles and long-range attack drones.

According to his calculations, delivering a 200-kilogram warhead over a distance of 300 kilometers using a ballistic missile costs approximately $600,000. By comparison, a strike drone can carry an equivalent payload as far as 380 kilometers for just $40,000 to $50,000.

The figures illustrate why Shtilerman considers ballistic missile strikes against Russian rear-area targets an extremely expensive option compared with unmanned aircraft.

Despite these concerns, Fire Point has not abandoned ballistic missile production. Shtilerman confirmed that the company continues manufacturing the weapons but does not currently launch them against targets in Russia.

Instead, the missiles are being stockpiled for a future project known as Freya.

The project involves developing an anti-missile defense system in cooperation with European partners, with Fire Point reserving its ballistic missiles for that initiative.