The Flamingo Missile's First Confirmed Target: Russian Hovercraft

A salvo of Ukraine's giant Flamingo cruise missiles blew up a hovercraft base in Crimea

Flamingo. Fire Point photo

The company that manufactures Ukraine’s new long-range cruise missile, Fire Point, is under investigation for misrepresenting the capabilities and cost of its Flamingo missile.

But that isn’t stopping Ukraine from using the seven-ton, turbojet-powered missile to blast Russian targets.

On Saturday morning, Ukrainian crews launched at least three of the ramp-launched Flamingos at a facility in Armiansk, 60 miles from the front line in northern Crimea. (See video below.) The base is reportedly operated by the Russian federal security service, the FSB—and also sheltered some patrol hovercraft including Khivus A-8s, 25-footers capable of transporting eight troops.

The damage was minimal, if Militarnyi’s reporting is accurate: six hovercraft damaged and one Russian killed.

But as a proof of concept, it’s much better than failure. Ukrainian forces had reportedly already fired a few Flamingos in anger, presumably as part of operational testing. The Armiansk raid may be the first full-scale use.