Ukrainian-made Flamingo missile is "real chance to end war" — aviation expert

Aviation expert Valeriy Romanenko, a leading researcher at the State Aviation Museum, expressed his view on Espreso TV.

"A ton of explosives means that striking any Russian facility would require at most two of these missiles. And the issue with Shaheds or any specific type of Russian weaponry would simply be resolved for at least six months to a year. What kind of missile is this? It’s a fairly simple cruise missile, a standard cruise missile with all the typical parameters of such missiles. Apart from that, it has a substantial warhead — twice as large as any known Russian or American missile. Typically, modern cruise missiles have warheads of 450 kilograms, at most 500. This one has 1,000 kilograms, twice as much. The idea is that once it hits, you don’t need to strike the target again; it destroys it on the first try. Its speed is typical — 850-900 kilometers per hour. Since it flies at low altitude, this is not a very high subsonic speed. Overall, its dimensions are impressive: a wingspan of 6 meters and a launch weight of 6 tons," he said.

Valeriy Romanenko noted the missile has enough fuel to reach a range of 3,000 km.

“The only thing is that, let’s say, the navigation systems are simpler than those in modern cruise missiles; there have been no reports of a system that, for example, navigates based on the terrain over which it flies. This allows the missile to be cheaper and keeps the overall design as simple as possible. Modern missiles often use container launches, meaning they are housed in a container, the engine is inside the fuselage and either deploys after launch or stays within the missile body. Here, the engine is mounted above the missile body, and the wings are fixed; in container launches, wings are usually deployed after launch. Everything is simplified - on one hand, it’s adapted for mass production, but on the other, it will create challenges for those handling the missiles. After all, it’s a large object, and both the launcher and the missile itself will be difficult to conceal,” he explained.

According to the aviation expert, using the Flamingo missile could help bring the war to an end.

“We need to strike anything and everything with these missiles — refineries, manufacturing plants, even some command centers. That’s why there are high hopes, and I would even consider creating a fund so people could contribute to launching as many of these missiles as possible. This is a real opportunity to end the war. Imagine, with a range of 3,000 kilometers, 90% of Russian military-industrial enterprises would be within reach. That’s at least 40–50% of Russian refineries. Just imagine if even part of them were destroyed. What position would Russia be in? They’d have no ammunition, weaponry would be problematic, and gasoline would be rationed. So this is our big bet,” emphasized Valeriy Romanenko.

• On August 17, Ukrainian professional photojournalist Yefrem Lukatsky, a recipient of the Order of Merit, 2nd and 3rd class, who collaborates with the American news agency Associated Press, published a photograph of the Ukrainian-made Flamingo missile.