"Ukraine’s ‘remarkable’ wartime technological advances," German Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius said during a recent visit to Kyiv, a phrase that captures why European defense firms are turning from supplying weapons to co-developing and manufacturing Ukrainian missile designs for their own arsenals.
Diehl and Fire Point: German production talks for the Flamingo
Diehl Defense has confirmed plans to launch production of Ukraine’s FP‑5 “Flamingo” cruise missile in Germany. Diehl’s chief executive, Helmut Rauch, said his company was planning talks in the coming weeks with Fire Point, the Ukrainian manufacturer of the Flamingo. Diehl previously signed a technology agreement with Fire Point but had not disclosed details until this announcement.
Fire Point has stated production goals for the Flamingo that would scale rapidly: a target output of at least seven missiles per day by October, which the company equates to 2,555 missiles annually. The source notes this target’s feasibility is uncertain, and Diehl has already indicated it could bring more advanced seeker technology to future Flamingo variants.
MBDA and Luch: Neptune 2 and “disruptive innovation”
MBDA, Europe’s largest missile maker, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Ukrainian firm Luch to expand collaboration on the Neptune family of cruise missiles. The agreement specifically targets work on a so‑called Neptune 2, a program MBDA describes in terms of “disruptive innovation.”
Luch’s Neptune began as an anti‑ship design derived from the Soviet Kh‑35 (NATO reporting name SS‑N‑25 Switchblade). The Neptune rose to prominence after being used to sink the Russian Slava‑class cruiser Moskva in 2022. Ukrainian developers have since introduced several land‑attack and extended‑range variants.
Flamingo and Neptune: ranges, guidance, and limits
The two Ukrainian cruise lines differ sharply in size and reach. The FP‑5 Flamingo was designed from the ground up for deep strikes and carries a reported range of 1,864 miles (3,000 kilometers) with a warhead of roughly 2,205 pounds (1,000 kilograms). It is launched from rails mounted on a trailer and reportedly uses a mix of satellite navigation and an underlying inertial navigation system; it is powered by an Ivchenko AI‑25 turbofan engine repurposed from aircraft such as the L‑39.
The Neptune family includes the original anti‑ship Neptune (reported maximum range about 190 miles/300 kilometers), a land‑attack version developed in 2023 with reported range up to 225 miles (360 kilometers), an extended‑range “Long Neptune” that President Volodymyr Zelensky has stated reaches roughly 620 miles (1,000 kilometers), and an intermediate “bulged” variant that increases fuel capacity for longer range. Land‑attack Neptunes reportedly use GPS‑assisted inertial navigation plus an imaging infrared sensor rather than the anti‑ship variant’s active radar seeker.
Both Flamingo and Neptune fly at subsonic speed and, according to the source, are not especially sophisticated in terms of signature reduction; they remain vulnerable to interception and are more effective when used in massed barrages with drones and decoys to overwhelm defenses. That operational experience — how to combine quantity and tactics — is a central part of what European partners are seeking to tap.
Production scale, European strategy, and political constraints
European NATO members face a gap in land‑based long‑range strike capabilities. The source notes that European programs to produce new deep‑strike systems are not expected to field new systems until the 2030s, and multinational efforts such as the European Long‑Range Strike Approach (ELSA) still require agreement on common requirements. Separately, Germany and the United Kingdom have proposed a joint “deep precision strike” weapon with a range over 1,240 miles (2,000 kilometers), but no industrial framework has yet been agreed.
Political constraints are visible in allies’ choices: Kyiv has asked for U.S. Tomahawk cruise missiles, which would reach roughly 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) from Ukraine’s borders, but the United States has so far declined. The source quotes U.S. President Donald Trump saying he is “not looking to see an escalation.” Those U.S. decisions, combined with Russia’s extensive use of ground‑launched missiles and deployment of long‑range weapons in Kaliningrad, are cited as drivers for European interest in Ukrainian designs.
How Berlin, Kyiv, and NATO are positioned
- Berlin: The German government is actively exploring joint ventures with Ukrainian industry; Defense Minister Boris Pistorius highlighted long‑range drones, air defenses, and electronic warfare as areas of interest, and German firms such as Diehl are engaging Fire Point on manufacturing and seeker upgrades.
- Kyiv: Ukraine brings combat‑proven designs, wartime production experience, and rapid innovation; firms like Luch and Fire Point are evolving Neptune and Flamingo families and pursuing follow‑on ballistic projects such as the FP‑9, which Fire Point expects to start testing this summer with an anticipated range around 530 miles (855 kilometers).
- NATO members: Faced with capability shortfalls and long timelines for indigenous programs, European nations are weighing whether to integrate Ukrainian designs — potentially upgraded by MBDA, Diehl, and other partners — as an interim or complementary route to fielding long‑range land‑based strike capacity.
The story’s next milestones are concrete: Diehl’s planned talks with Fire Point, MBDA and Luch’s Neptune 2 development, and Fire Point’s FP‑9 testing this summer. Together they will test whether wartime Ukrainian innovation can be industrialized and refined into a durable European deep‑strike capability — and whether that capability will arrive in time, and at scale, to change NATO’s deterrence calculus.
Source: The War Zone — Ukraine To Help Fulfill Europe’s Long-Range Strike Missile Needs
