Military — 2026-06-21

German Defence Ministry Considers Purchasing Low-Cost Cruise Missiles From Ukrainian Manufacturers Fire Point and Bars

BLUFBerlin's outreach to Ukrainian cruise missile makers signals a structural pivot away from US strike dependencies, though a formal procurement contract by December 31, 2026 remains very unlikely given the exploratory stage of ministry deliberations.

Germany's Defence Ministry procurement office contacted Ukrainian firm Fire Point and Israeli startup Covenant for information about their cruise missile products, Politico reported June 18 after reviewing ministry planning documents 1234. The documents name two Ukrainian systems: Fire Point's Flamingo cruise missile, with a 3,000-kilometer range and a unit cost of roughly $500,000, about one-fifth the Tomahawk's price, and the Bars jet-powered drone from an unnamed Ukrainian manufacturer, both already in combat use against Russia 12. The outreach followed Trump's decision not to deploy a Tomahawk-equipped unit in Germany and a stalled direct purchase effort, with the Pentagon not expected to begin the formal export process before mid-2026 34. Diehl Defence is already in talks with Fire Point about co-producing the Flamingo in Germany 24.

Analysis
Berlin is building redundancy against US supply chain dependency for land-attack strike, not replacing the Tomahawk in kind. A formal Flamingo or Bars procurement contract by December 31, 2026 is very unlikely. Ministry documents frame both systems experimentally, with a capability roadmap anchoring low-cost cruise missiles no earlier than 2027 and no procurement mechanism visible inside the window. Confidence is moderate, with sourcing limited to a single document set and internal deliberations opaque to open-source collection. Diehl Defence's co-production talks with Fire Point are the most concrete forward indicator, though they fall short of a government decision. The outreach may instead be competitive signaling designed to pressure Washington into accelerating Tomahawk export approvals. German planners face a choice between committing now to Flamingo co-production infrastructure or remaining dependent on the stalled US export timeline through at least 2027.

5 sources