Decentralized Factories, Targeting Moscow: Ukraine’s “Fire Point” Missile Factory Operations Revealed

The Ukrainian defense company “Fire Point” specializes in missile and drone manufacturing. To counter air attack threats, the factory has completely abandoned traditional centralized production models, instead splitting its production lines into a vast network of decentralized, mutually redundant workshops. If struck by precise Russian attacks, workers can swiftly relocate to backup sites and rapidly resume assembly using equipment already in place.

In terms of output, company head Vitaly Shchitlerman refused to disclose exact monthly missile production figures, stating only, “We produce as many as our orders demand.” However, he admitted that current production faces severe logistical bottlenecks—particularly a critical shortage of missile engines. The root cause lies in cumbersome bureaucratic procedures in Europe and the United States, where export licenses for key components are delayed, significantly slowing down Ukraine’s defense manufacturing progress.

Tactically, “Fire Point” also confronts practical realities. The company has already developed ballistic missiles with a range of 300 kilometers, but mass deployment is not cost-effective. In contrast, large heavy drones are cheaper and can carry the same 200-kilogram warhead. As a result, these 300-kilometer-range missiles have been stored in inventory for potential future use in Ukraine’s “Freyja” (FREYJA) air defense project.

Meanwhile, “Fire Point” is intensively developing a long-range ballistic missile capable of reaching Moscow and St. Petersburg. Engineers are currently conducting ground tests on solid-fuel rocket engines. The project’s development stalled for nearly a year due to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s failure to deliver Soviet-era blueprints and technical documents—promised initially by officials who ultimately shelved the initiative. This forced engineers to start from scratch, reconstructing the entire technology stack.

According to plan, the new long-range missile will complete full-scale flight testing by 2026. “Fire Point” leadership has openly declared that Ukraine intends to conduct its first real-world test launch toward Moscow soon. Additionally, Shchitlerman issued a stark warning: should conflict erupt, Ukraine will completely destroy all infrastructure across Belarus.

Traditional air defense systems can relatively easily intercept drones and cruise missiles, but ballistic missiles fly at extremely high altitudes, with very short flight times—just a few to several minutes—and reach hypersonic speeds during their terminal phase, making interception exponentially more difficult for conventional defense systems.

Although Moscow is protected by dense air defense networks like the S-400 system, Ukraine’s move will force Russia to “borrow from one wall to patch another.” To defend the capital, Russia must redeploy advanced air defense systems from frontline areas back to home defense, thereby drastically reducing air defense coverage over other strategic locations—such as energy facilities and defense industry plants—creating opportunities for strikes from other directions.

Ukraine is thus shaping a composite strike model: “drone saturation attacks” combined with “precision ballistic missile penetration.” Drones will consume enemy interceptors, while ballistic missiles deliver the decisive blow. This tactic will severely overload Russian air defense systems.

Achieving strategic autonomy: Unlike Western weapons such as ATACMS, which are constrained by political conditions from striking Russian territory, Ukraine’s domestically produced ballistic missiles offer full independence in command, production, and operation. This means Kyiv no longer needs to rely on Washington’s approval and can shape the battlefield according to its own strategic will.

Recently, Ukraine approved the “40-Day Strike Plan,” aiming to apply continuous military pressure to push Russia back to the negotiating table. Possessing the capability to strike Moscow will give Ukraine greater leverage in future peace talks, fundamentally reversing its previous defensive posture.

The operational deployment of this long-range ballistic missile is not merely about adding a new weapon—it represents the final piece in Ukraine’s “long-range sanctions” and “energy strangulation” strategy. It signals a shift in the focus of the Russia-Ukraine conflict—from mere frontline positional warfare to a deeper, protracted contest measuring national comprehensive strength, air defense resilience, and industrial capacity.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1869246579509257/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.