Ukraine's Fire Point launches satellites, eyes Tomahawk replacement, plans European air defense shield

The move is designed to reduce Ukraine's dependence on the United States and private Western corporations for intelligence and navigation support.

The accelerating development of Ukrainian defense technology was spurred in part by last year's Oval Office confrontation between President Donald Trump and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, during which Washington blocked intelligence sharing with Kyiv for a week, Shtilerman said.

Another catalyst was the vulnerability of the Starlink network: Russia learned to exploit Elon Musk's XSpace satellite system to navigate its own drones.

Fire Point is also expanding production of cruise and ballistic missiles and is developing a pan-European air defense shield designed to be independent of specific manufacturers. "The idea behind our weapons is that we sell not only weapons and not only security, but independence in security," said Shtilerman.

The company currently produces approximately 200 Flamingo cruise missiles per month, with a declared range of 3,000 kilometers — roughly twice that of the American Tomahawk. Fire Point is also testing the FP-7 and FP-9 ballistic missiles, with ranges of 300 and 850 kilometers respectively; the FP-9 is capable of reaching Moscow.

About one-third of all Ukrainian strikes on targets inside Russia are carried out using Fire Point drones. The FP-1 drone costs approximately €50,000 ($58,505) — three to four times cheaper than Western equivalents.

The company has grown from a few dozen to nearly 6,000 employees in three years, with production distributed across 70 locations throughout Ukraine.

European governments are actively interested in Ukrainian weapons, the FT reported. "The German government buys our FP-1 and FP-2 for our military . . . [but] the thing they are thinking about is potentially replacing the Tomahawk with the Flamingo," Shtilerman added.

In April, Fire Point and German missile manufacturer Diehl Defence signed a technology cooperation agreement to jointly develop the Freya anti-ballistic shield for Europe, based on the FP-7 missile.

The United States has also expressed interest: Kyiv and Washington are preparing a first agreement to export Ukrainian drones for military testing in the United States, according to a draft document reviewed by the FT.

Fire Point and the Mindich recordings controversy

On April 29, news outlet Ukrainska Pravda published recordings of phone conversations documented by Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) at the apartment of businessman Tymur Mindich — a figure in a corruption investigation involving Ukraine's energy sector.

In the recordings, Mindich and then-Defense Minister Rustem Umerov discuss financing for Fire Point. The investigation suggests Mindich may be one of the company's beneficiaries, which he denies. Shtilerman has also denied Mindich's involvement in Fire Point.

At a May 13 session of a Ukrainian parliamentary temporary investigative commission, Shtilerman said Mindich offered $1 billion for a 50% stake in Fire Point — but was turned down because a sovereign wealth fund from an unspecified country had offered $758 million for a 30% stake. In December 2025, it was reported that UAE defense group EDGE planned to acquire 30% of Fire Point for approximately $760 million; in April, however, Ukraine's Antimonopoly Committee returned the company's application without reviewing it.

Yuriy Hudymenko, head of the Public Anti-Corruption Council at the Ministry of Defense, warned that if Mindich's involvement in Fire Point is legally established, the company could lose its ability to supply Ukraine's Defense Forces — as Mindich is under sanctions and is not listed among the company's ultimate beneficial owners. Denmark has already frozen a deal with Fire Point on solid rocket fuel production following the publication of the recordings.