Russian Air Defenses Shot Down Ukraine’s ‘Wunderwaffe’ Flamingo Missile For First Time (Photos)

Illustrative image. (Fire Point)

Russian air defenses have successfully intercepted Ukraine FP-5 “Flamingo” long-range cruise missiles for the first time.

It is still unclear when or where exactly the large cruise missile was shot down, but its wreckage was found in a forest somewhere in Russia. Photos of the wreckage surfaced online on October 9.

Russian sources said that the missile was flying at an altitude of 100 meters with a speed around 600 kilometers per hour when it was shot down. Some of the sources said that the missile was shot down by a Pantsir-S short-range air defense system, while others attributed the kill to a Buk-M medium-range air defense system.

Click to see full-size image. (Telegram)

Click to see full-size image. (Telegram)

The Flamingo was first unveiled by the Ukrainian defense company Fire Point in August. The company claimed that the missile has a range of 3,000 kilometers and carries a warhead weighing 1,150 kilograms. It was later revealed that the missile was powered by a AI-25TL turbofan engine, which is used in the L-39 Albatros jet trainer.

The specifications of the Flamingo, which appears to be an exact copy of a cruise missile design called the FP-5 previously exhibited by the United Arab Emirates-based Milanion, were questioned by many experts.

Interestingly, the interception of the Flamingo came just a few days after President Volodymyr Zelensky hinted that Ukraine may have begun using the missile in so-called “deep strikes” on Russia.

Click to see full-size image. (Telegram)

Click to see full-size image. (Telegram)

Click to see full-size image. (Telegram)

When the Flamingo was first unveiled in August, Fire Point told the Associated Press that it was building around one Flamingo every day and aiming to get that rate up to at least seven by October. A third of the month has already passed and there are still indications of regular use of the missile, which is reported to cost around half a million United State Dollars per unit, let alone an increase in its use.

While the missile is a credible threat, there is no doubt that Ukraine had exaggerated its capabilities, presenting it as some “Wunderwaffe”.

The missile is larger than many of other cruise missiles already used by Ukraine, like the land-attack version of the Neptune or the Franco-British air-launched Storm Shadow. Russian air defenses have already adapted to these missiles, thus it is illogical to consider the Flamingo, which clearly has a larger radar cross section, to be a bigger threat.

The issue of production also appears to be very real as Ukraine is actively pleading with the U.S. to get Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles, which have around half the range of the Flaming. This is enough evidence to confirm that the Ukrainian claims, whether about the capabilities of the missile or its ability to mass produce, are inaccurate, if not straight up propaganda.

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