Ukraine tests firebird missile

Ukraine has tested a 3,000-kilometre-range "Firebird" missile, trying to deter more of Moscow's important targets.

According to a report by Xinhua News Agency on August 21, Ukraine's Interfax news agency reported on the 21st that Ukrainian President Zelensky said that Ukraine had successfully tested the "Flamingo" long-range missile, which flew more than 3,000 kilometers and was "the most successful missile currently possessed by Ukraine."

What is the performance of Ukraine's "most successful missile"?

This missile has been noticed and discussed by the outside world on August 18th. According to reports from Ukraine's "Kiev Independent" and other media quoted by the World Wide Web on the 18th, it is reported that a new missile named "Flamingo" independently developed by Ukraine has been put into mass production, with a range of more than 3,000 kilometers.

The Associated Press reported that the missile was named "Flamingo" because something happened to the first batch of produced missiles, which caused the missile to eventually turn pink, similar in color to the flamingo. Finally, the missile was simply named "Flamingo".

The "Flamingo" missile uses mobile launch

At that time, the Ukraine military had not commented on the above news, and the Ukraine government did not publicly confirm the existence of the missile. It was not until Zelensky's statement on the 21st that the missile was officially made public.

According to the report, the missile has a range of more than 3,000 kilometers and a bullethead weight of up to 1 ton, and it is said that the missile has completed real-world tests, performance is stable, and the monthly production capacity is expected to reach 50 units, starting from the end of December this year or January next year.

Judging from the photos released by Ukraine, the "Flamingo" is a cruise missile with a pair of large-sized straight wings in the middle of the cylindrical missile body. A solid rocket booster is equipped under the missile body to boost take-off. The engine is installed above the tail of the missile. The missile is launched using a simple guide rail, and the launcher can be installed on a truck, which has certain maneuverability.

The U.S. military website "War Zone" newspaper said that the "Fire Bird" missile is very similar to a large cruise missile called FP-5, the FP-5 large cruise missile displayed at the Abu Dhabi International Defense Exhibition (IDEX) in February this year. The performance of the missile was revealed at the exhibition, winged 6 meters, range 3000 kilometers, battle weight 6 tons, battle department weighs about 1 ton, maximum flight speed 900 kilometers per hour, using routine + GPS guidance, launch preparation time 20 minutes-40 minutes.

Military expert Korean East analyzes that from the "Firebird" shape, guidance and aerodynamic layout, the missile is the product of cost and technical compromise in the situation of Ukraine during the war, is a simple cruise missile, such as the ballistic wing does not use folding design, the engine is also placed outside the ammunition, and the guidance mode is only GPS + inertia navigation.

"Advanced cruise missiles usually use folding wings, which can be loaded into a launch box or launch tube, and the engine will also be integrated into the body. In addition to inertial navigation and satellite navigation, guidance methods usually include terrain matching guidance or image matching guidance," Han Dong said,"Only in this way can the missile fly at ultra-low altitudes and have stronger anti-interference capabilities and hit accuracy. For example, the well-known 'Tomahawk' cruise missile uses a variety of advanced designs and equipment mentioned above."

¡°The design and positioning of the ¡®Firebird¡¯ missile is in line with Ukraine¡¯s wartime conditions, the atmospheric layout is relatively simple, low-cost and easy to mass production in a short time, is the current weapon of the Ukrainian defense industry can mass production, more powerful than suicidal drones, after all, Russia has been continuously striking the defense industry of Ukraine.

Why did Ukraine announce it at this time?

Currently, the United States, Russia and Ukraine are conducting intensive communication for a ceasefire or peace agreement. Ukraine's move to announce the "most successful missile" at this time triggered discussions outside.

The Economist published an article saying that the Ukrainian photographer Lukatsky, who took photos of the missile, said that the missile has entered mass production, marking a significant step forward in Ukraine's domestic missile development work. According to the Economist, this is a strategic signal released by Ukraine.

According to Ukrainian media, the "Firebird" missile has the capability to cover most important military targets in Russia, including 70 out of 90 air bases, as well as major missile and drone production facilities, highlighting Ukraine's significant progress in defense independent development.

An article published in the Kiev Independent pointed out that from the perspective of national defense strategy, Ukraine's domestic long-range weapons are crucial, and Ukraine continues to expand the production of domestic weapons. Earlier, it was reported that a missile independently developed by Ukraine had completed actual combat testing and was undergoing mass production. However, it is unclear when the missile will be put into the battlefield.

This is the second major achievement of the official public missile development of Ukraine.According to Central Television News last August, Ukrainian President Zelensky told the media on 27 (the same month) that the Ukrainian military industrial complex has successfully developed the first domestic ballistic missile and successfully completed the test.But he declined to disclose any details about the missile.

In fact, before the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Ukraine had demonstrated a modern cruise missile similar to the "Tax", which was named the "Tax", which looks very similar to the "Tax" missile.

Ukrainian officials have not announced the model and performance of the first missile. According to an article published on the US military website "Theater", the missile may be the "Thunder-2" ballistic missile previously announced by Ukraine. The missile was developed after 2014, and the rocket engine used in the missile was tested in 2018. The shape is very similar to the Russian "Iskander-M" tactical ballistic missile, with a maximum range of more than 500 kilometers.

The "Firebird" missile is indeed a significant weapon for Ukraine in the war zone," the paper noted that if the "Firebird" missile is mass-produced, it will provide Ukraine with a new and very valuable means to target critical locations within Russia in a more destructive way. The jet-powered design of the missile also provides speed and survival advantages for deepening into Russian territory, especially compared with the modified light aircraft and other long-range drones that Ukraine now relies on for such attacks.

"The 1-ton warhead is also relatively powerful. With the support of Western technology, it is likely to integrate military-grade GPS guidance for this missile, which has stronger anti-jamming ability and higher navigation accuracy. The hit accuracy can be within 5 meters, and it has a strong precision strike capability." Han Dong said.

"Ukraine's disclosure of this missile at this time also sends a deterrent signal, that is, if it continues to fight, Ukraine's long-range strike will cause greater losses to Russia." Han Dong analyzed that.

The ¡°War Zone¡± newspaper believes that on a strategic level, the ¡°Firebird¡± can provide Ukraine with a valuable additional negotiating code as it could threaten the vast territory of Russia. As a domestic weapon, the Ukrainian army will have more freedom to use missiles to attack targets within Russia. Western countries have continuously restricted Ukraine¡¯s use of ammunition they provide to attack Russian indigenous targets, and otherwise pressured Ukraine not to strike certain categories of targets.

¡°Russia should also be very concerned about this missile and will try to strike the missile production plant and deployment base, while also targeting the domestic air defense deployment, so the battlefield performance and strategic significance of the missile remains to be further observed,¡± he said.