00:00Ukraine's weapons manufacturer Firepoint behind the Flamingo cruise missile is in
00:05talks with European companies to launch a new cheaper air defense system by the end of 2027.
00:10Years of know-how gained on the battlefield fighting Russian forces have made Ukraine
00:15a leading innovator in low-cost defense tech. Governments are looking at ways to defend their
00:20skies, whether above Ukraine against Russian Iskander missiles or due to repercussions from
00:25the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. Ukraine and many other Western allied nations rely heavily on the
00:31U.S.-made Patriot system to stop ballistic missiles, but they're increasingly in short
00:35supply amid extensive deployment in the Gulf. And the Patriot system may require two or three
00:40air defense missiles to bring down a ballistic projectile, says Firepoint's co-founder and
00:45chief designer Denis Shatilyaman. You must decrease the price of intercept the ballistic missile,
00:50because right now it's like we spent two or three Patriot to intercept the Iskander.
00:57It's pretty big money. If we can decrease like intercept less than one million dollars,
01:02it will be great. It will be like game changer in our defense solution.
01:08Fabian Hoffman, a missile expert at Norwegian Defense University College,
01:13said Ukraine's timeline for the air defense system is ambitious, but he sees strong demand from
01:17governments even if it's less effective than the Patriot. Firepoint was founded after Moscow's
01:232022 invasion and is Ukraine's biggest maker of the long-range drones used in the majority of
01:28strikes deep inside Russia. Its FP-5 long-range cruise missile, commonly known as the Flamingo,
01:34has been used to hit Russian military facilities and armed factories, including a ballistic missile
01:38plant nearly 870 miles inside Russia. Shatilyaman says it's also in the final stages of developing
01:45two supersonic ballistic missiles, one of which would be able to reach Moscow. Russia's defense
01:49ministry didn't respond to a request for comment. Ukraine's President Vladimir Zelenskyy visited
01:55several Gulf countries in late March and said its drone interceptors and military expertise are
02:00delivering results for nations there defending against Iranian attacks. Firepoint says it's also
02:06making hundreds of long-range strike drones a day at about $57,750 apiece to produce.
02:12It is awaiting approval to begin exports to several Gulf states who have expressed interest
02:17and separately for potential investment by a UAE firm to pursue new business opportunities.
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