The Flamingo cruise missile, from the Ukrainian company Fire Point, was one of the highlights of the Eurosatory arms fair, which closed its doors on Friday June 19. Iryna Terekh, the boss of Fire Point, which employs 6,000 people, illustrates the immense ambitions of Ukraine’s defense industry. Interview.
A musical atmosphere and images of missile strikes on the big screen worthy of a blockbuster on the oversized Fire Point stand, and of course the full-scale model of the Flamingo, the largest cruise missile in the world: 12 meters long painted pink – like Iryna Terekh’s nails. Under her arm, the very young CEO, perched on stilettos, holds a pink flamingo stuffed toy.
« Flamingos are cruise missiles, but with this image of the pink flamingo, we send a lot of messages. You know, we would never have made missiles if our crazy neighbor hadn’t attacked us. We are fundamentally peaceful. And that’s why we chose a peaceful bird as our symbol“, explained Iryna Terekh.
« FP for Fire Point, but also for F*** Poutine »
FP, the initials of Fire Point, also means “ F*** Poutine ” (« On emm*** Poutine“), smiles Iryna Terekh. A cookie-cutter, direct and effective communication for this 34-year-old trained architect, who founded in 2022 this company which has become emblematic of the Ukrainian war industry. In addition to the Flamingo, Fire Point also produces the FP-1 drones and claims 60% of Ukrainian drone strikes.
« We created this company with two friends on a corner of a table ! From the start, my mission was to set up production. My goal was to manufacture 20 FPV drones per month and that was already extremely ambitious ! I already had quite a bit of experience as a construction entrepreneur, but producing 20 drones per month in 2022 was unheard of, it seemed crazy ! And today, we deliver nearly 300 FPV drones per day, which proves that the logic of our architecture, despite repeated attacks, was relevant and effective. So we continue to develop it », poursuit la PDG.
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Scalability and low cost, the company’s doctrine
In a short time, the company broke into a high-tech sector. To achieve this, it was able to establish partnerships with French majors, particularly for the guidance of the Flamingo missile. “It is a 90% Ukrainian product and 10% comes from the West. We have benefited from considerable assistance from the West, with the aim of maximum local and vertical integration. This is what guarantees our independence and our ability to protect our sovereignty without authorization. In particular, we receive help from the Francevaluable help, but also from other European countries. On the other hand, we exclude any use of Chinese and American technology. It is a way of restoring to the European continent its power and its technological sovereignty », développe Iryna Terekh.
On paper, the Flamingo can carry more than a ton of payload to 3,000 kilometers and costs ten times less than a Western missile. For the entire industry défense European, Ukraine is essential today, assures Iryna Terekh. “We believe that the most effective way to test weapon systems, to confront them with modern warfare, is to do so in Ukraine. Because it is impossible to recreate the conditions of the front elsewhere, the jamming in particular. If we want to effectively develop electronic navigation systems and inertial units, Ukraine is the ideal place. There is no other comparable testing ground in the world. And we are the strongest“, insists the young CEO with a bravado, her point raised as a sign of challenge.
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