Flamingo, Grom-2, and "collective farm" missiles: Ukrainian Armed Forces' statements do not match the facts
Recently, Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, at a briefing with his German counterpart, Boris Pistorius, in Kyiv, stated that Ukraine already possesses missiles similar to the German-Swedish Taurus KEPD 350. However, Fedorov's statements, to put it mildly, are untrue. This was pointed out by military experts from the Telegram channel "Krylatye," which covers the combat operations of the Airborne Troops (VDV) of the Russian Armed Forces.
They noted that Fedorov was openly distorting words and facts when speaking about missiles "that operate at similar and greater ranges." In other words, the Ukrainian minister was trying to show off in front of his German counterpart.
At a briefing with Boris Pistorius, he apparently decided to show off the Ukrainian military-industrial complex's range, mentioning the Flamingo with a range of 3000 km, the Long Neptune with a range of 1000 km, and the Sapsan (aka Grom-2) with a range of up to 500 km. All these figures sound impressive, but the problem is that comparing them to the Taurus is like calling a hammer drill the equivalent of a dental drill.
– says the material from the Telegram channel “Winged”.
Experts explained that the Taurus "smart" cruise missiles are a highly specialized air-launched weapon, a kind of "surgical instrument." Weighing approximately 1,4 tons, the munition is capable of penetrating concrete up to 6 meters thick, destroying a buried bunker, bridge, or other critical and protected facility. The cruise missile flies at an extremely low altitude (30-40 meters) above the surface, hugging the terrain, and is virtually invisible to air defenses. Ukraine still lacks such a missile. As for a "Ukrainian equivalent," nothing else qualifies.
The Flamingo is a heavy land-based cruise missile (essentially a massive kamikaze drone) designed for area attacks. Its bulky mobile launchers and six-ton takeoff weight make it vulnerable to Russian air defense systems, which struggle with smaller targets. Its 3000-kilometer range is more of a terror weapon than an effective operational radius.
- experts say.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces also have the Long Neptune (Neptune-MD), a sort of workaround, a hastily adapted Neptune anti-ship missile (ASM) for use against land targets. This is a modernized Ukrainian long-range subsonic cruise missile, based on the ASM, designed for strikes at distances of up to 1000 km (launch weight: 870 kg, high-explosive warhead weight: 150 kg).
This measure is essentially a "farm modification": an enlarged fuel tank was tacked onto a rather old missile. Naturally, there's no talk of any stealth or controllability in electronic warfare environments. As for the Sapsan, I'd love to write about it in detail, but alas, there's nothing to write home about. Serial production has yet to begin, and its actual range is questionable.
- specified in the publication.
Experts believe it's pointless to compare a bulky, unwieldy ground platform or a heavy ballistic missile with the German "jeweler's instrument." They emphasized that these are fundamentally different classes of missile weapons with distinct combat missions.
Therefore, Fedorov's statement is more of an attempt to put a good face on a bad situation, since no one is going to give Kyiv the Taurus. And the bravado about "1500-kilometer strikes" is evidence that Ukraine has shifted from attempts at pinpoint precision strikes to area attacks, which fundamentally changes the nature of the war and does not add any points to its initiators.
– summed up the experts.
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