Ukraine arms maker plans satellite push to cut reliance on US

{"text":[[{"start":7.65,"text":"One of Ukraine’s leading weapons manufacturers says it launched two satellites this year and plans “dozens” more in 2027, as the country seeks to lessen its reliance on the US government and western tech companies."}],[{"start":20.75,"text":"Denys Shtilierman, co-founder and chief designer at Fire Point, told the FT the company was expanding production of cruise and ballistic missiles and developing a “pan-European air-defence shield” to avoid dependence on specific manufacturers."}],[{"start":35.35,"text":"“The idea behind our weapons is that we sell not only weapons and not only security, but independence in security,” Shtilierman said."}],[{"start":43.45,"text":"Ukraine has stepped up its domestic innovation after last year’s Oval Office clash between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which prompted the US to suspend intelligence sharing with Kyiv for a week. The Ukrainian army’s reliance on Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite system has also proved a vulnerability at times, notably when it emerged that Russia was using it to guide its attack drones in Ukraine."}],[{"start":66.7,"text":"Shtilierman said European governments and defence groups were exploring the purchase and joint production of his company’s drones and missiles, which are much cheaper than western models. Europe’s race to integrate battlefield-tested Ukrainian weapons comes amid fears of waning US security commitments for the continent."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":84.9,"text":"But Fire Point’s rapid rise is not without controversy, as its executives, including Shtilierman, have faced allegations of leveraging connections to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for major contracts and been caught up in a spiralling anti-corruption investigation. "}],[{"start":99.9,"text":"Shtilierman and other Fire Point executives have insisted their business is above board and said investigations and criticism of the company only serve to benefit Russia."}],[{"start":109.25,"text":"The corruption probe has disrupted production and prompted calls for audits and the company to be nationalised."}],[{"start":116.35,"text":"According to Shtilierman, a contract with the Danish government to produce solid rocket fuel was put on ice this month by Copenhagen after Ukrainian media published transcripts of alleged phone calls suggesting a former business partner of Zelenskyy was a major beneficiary of Fire Point. Shtilierman denied allegations of improper influence, adding: “Each rumour creates delays.”"}],[{"start":139.95,"text":"Ukrainian authorities and activists have also probed the company’s operations and Shtilierman’s past in Russia, where documents show a history of legal troubles and debt. Shtilierman, who admitted to doing jail time in Russia, said he left the country years ago and no longer has business interests there."}],[{"start":157.89999999999998,"text":"Fire Point emerged in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 with a focus on long-range unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and cruise missiles capable of hitting targets deep inside Russian territory. "}],[{"start":172.45,"text":"Ukrainian forces have escalated their strikes on Russian energy infrastructure to disrupt Moscow’s revenue streams. Countless videos have appeared on Russian social media showing Fire Point’s drones dive-bombing refineries, including one in Tuapse that caused toxic black rain."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":188.7,"text":"Shtilierman said his drones could be used to create “a kill zone in Iran” similar to the strip of no man’s land along the Ukrainian front line where soldiers are in mortal danger from UAVs equipped with explosives."}],[{"start":202,"text":"“It is very easy for Ukraine to create a kill zone 200km deep inside Iranian territory” and along the coastline, he said. “You just put kamikaze drones on duty” circling above the area. He said Fire Point could do the same to stop Russian oil tankers in the Baltic Sea and Black Sea if Kyiv’s western partners would approve the move."}],[{"start":225.85,"text":"Shtilierman said Gulf countries liked the “kill zone” idea but told him they “need permission from America”. The US has yet to respond, Shtilierman said. Publicly, Donald Trump has dismissed Ukrainian assistance in the region, claiming the US “know[s] more about drones than anybody”."}],[{"start":244,"text":"But the Pentagon is showing interest in Ukraine’s technology, with Kyiv and Washington preparing to sign a first-of-its-kind agreement to allow the export of Ukrainian drones for military testing in the US, according to a draft document seen by the FT. "}],[{"start":259.3,"text":"Inside Shtilierman’s cluttered office at an undisclosed location last week, walls were lined with screens tracking the weapons’ production in real time."}],[{"start":268.25,"text":"A pink replica of the company’s now famous FP-5 “Flamingo” cruise missile sat prominently atop a shelf filled with other model planes and rockets."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":277.75,"text":"The “Flamingo” claims a range of 3,000km — roughly double that of the US-made Tomahawk. Shtilierman said the company produced about 200 Flamingos per month but had capacity to do more. “We just need orders and money,” he said, while admitting a “bottleneck with the engine” that he said would be soon resolved. Some reports have raised doubts about the missile’s effectiveness, and there is little confirmed evidence of successful strikes. "}],[{"start":304.1,"text":"The company’s short-range FP-7 and mid-range FP-9 ballistic missiles are currently undergoing battlefield testing. Their ranges of 300km and 850km respectively would put Moscow within reach. Ballistic missiles are difficult to intercept due to their extreme speeds and steep trajectories."}],[{"start":322.90000000000003,"text":"Russia’s ballistic missiles are a problem for Ukraine, as the US-made Patriot systems, for which interceptors are in short supply because of the Iran war, are the only weapon capable of intercepting them. But Kyiv believes Moscow will have a hard time intercepting Ukrainian ballistic missiles as Russian air defences are less sophisticated than the Patriot."}],[{"start":343.75000000000006,"text":"At a Fire Point drone production facility visited by the FT, 3D printers hummed as they spun out carbon frames for small first-person-view (FPV) drones; machines ground away on parts for engines; and workers packed the completed weapons into trucks destined for troops near the front lines. "}],[{"start":361.6000000000001,"text":"Shtilierman pointed out one of the company’s latest developments: styrofoam wings cased in strong carbon fibre that now hold fuel tanks, expanding the drones’ flight time and range."}],[{"start":372.75000000000006,"text":"Fire Point has swelled from dozens to nearly 6,000 employees in just three years. They work at some 70 locations across Ukraine, decentralising production to help ensure that Russia can’t destroy production lines, Shtilierman said."}],[{"start":388.05000000000007,"text":"Rob Lee, a military expert and senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, said the company’s mid-range FP-2 drones “have emerged as a key part of Ukraine’s increasingly successful middle-strike campaign”, in particular to take out Russian air-defence systems in occupied areas."}],[{"start":405.8500000000001,"text":"About a third of Ukraine’s drone strikes against targets inside Russia are done with Fire Point’s FP-1 long-range drones and FP-2 mid-range UAVs, according to Shtilierman and defence officials. The long-range drones are designed to evade Russian electronic warfare by operating without GPS, instead flying autonomously at low altitude using night vision."}],[{"start":429.05000000000007,"text":"The price of one FP-1 long-range drone is about €50,000, significantly less than western-made strike drones costing three to four times more. The FP-2 costs even less. If a buyer wants theirs equipped with SpaceX’s Starlink satellite system and not the in-house Fire Point navigation system, the price drops to under €40,000."}],[{"start":451.1500000000001,"text":"“You don’t need to set antennas. Then you just need a camera, a Starlink on top and the flight controller,” Shtilierman said."}],[{"start":459.30000000000007,"text":"The success of Fire Point’s drones and burgeoning missile production partnered with their low cost has caught the attention of European governments looking for alternatives to American weapons."}],[{"start":469.20000000000005,"text":"Germany has shown significant interest, Shtilierman said. “The German government buys our FP-1 and FP-2 for our military . . . [but] the thing they are thinking about is potentially replacing the Tomahawk” with the Flamingo."}],[{"start":484.15000000000003,"text":"German defence minister Boris Pistorius said on a trip to Kyiv on Monday that the “technological leaps here in Ukraine are remarkable” and that joint ventures were being explored for long-range drones, air defences and electronic warfare."}],[{"start":498.45000000000005,"text":"Fire Point and German missile manufacturer Diehl Defence reportedly signed a technology co-operation agreement in April. Shtilierman declined to confirm the deal but said they are working on an anti-ballistic missile defence shield in Europe. Dubbed “Freya,” the system uses Fire Point’s FP-7 as an interceptor missile."}],[{"start":517.85,"text":"“Our main idea is to make it much cheaper and be able to scale it massively,” said Oleksandr, a Fire Point senior engineer working on the project. “We Ukrainians simply do not have time. We need it yesterday to defend ourselves.”"}],[{"start":531.95,"text":"Additional reporting by Anne-Sylvaine Chassany in Berlin"}],[{"start":543.8000000000001,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1778743854_5454.mp3"}