Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has joined the advisory board of Ukraine’s leading defense company, known for its long-range drones that can strike targets deep inside Russia, as corruption investigations continue.
In an effort to improve its international reputation, Fire Point is establishing a new factory in Denmark and bringing prominent industry figures on board. It also wants to expand its operations to produce proven cruise missiles, with plans to more than double current capacity.
However, public scrutiny remains intense amid an ongoing corruption investigation. Fire Point executives insist they have nothing to hide and operate under strict martial law protocols, even ordering an independent audit to appease investigators. However, critics question the company’s opaque origins and monopoly on its contracts with the Defense Ministry, pointing to alleged ties to President Volodymyr Zelensky’s notorious aide Tymur Mindich, who is involved in a major corruption scandal.
“Overall, it’s good that they’re working on this,” said Iryna Terekh, Fire Point’s chief technology officer for the study. “We as a company fully support the fact that this investigation is taking place.”
Terekh said Fire Point has commissioned a major international company to conduct an independent audit of its prices and production to address concerns. The investigation by anti-corruption organizations, launched a year ago, is still ongoing, she said. “We are waiting for the results.”
The Associated Press was given exclusive access to a factory in Ukraine where its cruise missiles, known as the Flamingo or FP-5, are assembled. The AP was granted access on the condition that the exact location not be mentioned due to the risk of Russian attacks.
Big plans
Fire Point, which rose to prominence after initially being relatively unknown following Russia’s massive invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, is now reporting about $1 billion in revenue this year. The company is also building a factory in Denmark to produce essential rocket fuel.
In the meantime, the company is working on expansion plans.
The company created an advisory board on Nov. 12 and appointed Pompeo as a member, executives told AP. “It’s a great honor for us,” Terekh said from the factory floor. “We have decided that as we grow into a large international company, we must ensure that we follow the clearest and best business standards.”
Another three people will join the board. “We are emerging as a company and we want a wise board of advisors to help us accomplish this work,” Terekh said.
U.S. Special Envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg also visited one of Fire Point’s factories during his latest visit, executives said, in a visit that also included other Ukrainian defense technology companies.
Building on the success of its deep-strike drone, the FP-1, which AP gained exclusive access to review in August, the company now plans to ramp up production of its cruise missiles. These missiles are also in high demand among the Ukrainian armed forces, as Western missiles are still difficult to access in sufficient quantities to weaken Russian capabilities.
Fire Point has successfully tested Flamingo on the battlefield at least four times, company executives said. In late August it was used to attack an FSB base in Armjansk on the occupied Crimean Peninsula. This week the missile was used to hit targets in the Russian city of Oryol. The company has not made its current production capacity available due to safety concerns.
Production is going according to plans, company executives said, without giving precise figures on safety problems.
Dozens of hollowed-out rocket frame fuselages were strewn across the factory floor. These are made of carbon fiber, a material better suited to evading Russian radars than aluminum, Maksym, its design chief, told the AP. He spoke on the condition that only his first name be used for security reasons.
Fire Point is a major beneficiary of the so-called Danish model, a financing mechanism led by Denmark in which foreign governments directly finance Ukrainian defense companies, rather than purchasing weapons from their own industries to send as aid. A factory is being built in Denmark to produce solid rocket fuel for rockets, including the Flamingo.
“They have done an excellent job in helping us secure production of crucial components,” Terekh said of Denmark’s support. “Our plant in Denmark is committed to solving a solid rocket fuel bottleneck.”
Ongoing research
But the company’s meteoric rise has been marred by an investigation by Ukraine’s anti-corruption watchdogs.
Authorities are investigating whether Fire Point inflated the prices of parts or the quantity of drones in Defense Department contracts for its main weapon, the FP-1 drone, and are also investigating possible ties between the company and Mindich.
Anti-corruption agencies have said they are not investigating the Flamingo missile.
Lawmakers have raised an issue with Fire Point over its apparent monopoly on deep strike drones, its ability to win lucrative contracts despite being relatively unknown, and the lack of clarity over its ownership. The legally listed owner is Yehor Skalyha, who, like Mindich, has connections to the entertainment industry.
Anti-corruption watchdogs have not released the findings of their investigation. Company founder Denys Shtilerman told AP he is the majority shareholder, with Skalyha owning 2%.
Shtilerman said he has met Mindich several times, but the company denies that the business owner has any ties to their company.
Pink flamingo
On Sunday, company engineers painted a pink flamingo on a Flamingo cruise missile, which was purchased through a crowdfunding campaign by a Czech organization, Weapons to Ukraine. Each rocket costs about $500,000.
The amount was raised in two days, says Jan Polak, member of the organization. The same organization managed to finance the delivery of a Black Hawk helicopter to Ukraine’s military intelligence, Polak said. “We feel like they are fighting for us,” he said of his organization’s reasons for financing the purchase of missiles to hit Russian targets.
The current design of the Flamingo missile is a compilation of old Soviet weapons and new techniques. For example, the engines came from old Soviet jets.
Testing and fine-tuning is a constant process, says Maksym. “As of now, we are still training for launches, because our missiles were manufactured only six months ago. At the moment we are training, but we are training on objects on the territory of Russia and Crimea,” he said.
Workers conducted a test launch of a rocket, this one painted black, that will be used in a future mission, he said. Employees rode in a truck that concealed the weapon.
“We are studying and doing everything we can to hit targets as far away as possible,” he said, adding that finding ways to evade Russian radar systems and electronic warfare remains an ongoing challenge. “We learn from every launch to work on mistakes.”
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