Flamingo Cruise Missile Strikes Avitek Plant in Russia’s Kirov

On the morning of July 24, Ukraine’s Defense Forces struck the Avitek defense plant in the Russian city of Kirov using a Flamingo cruise missile.

Video showing the aftermath of the strike was published by the Exilenova+ Telegram channel.

The use of the Flamingo missile was confirmed on X by Denys Shtilerman, co-owner and chief designer of Fire Point. He later shared a video of the missile being launched.

Explosions were heard in the city of Kirov at around 7 a.m. Afterward, local residents reported seeing smoke in the area of the plant and filmed the aftermath of the strike on their smartphones.

Preliminary reports indicate that the strike hit one of the plant’s central buildings.

According to OSINT Varta, JSC Vyatka Machine-Building Enterprise Avitek, located in Kirov, is part of the Almaz-Antey Air and Space DefenseCorporation and specializes in the production of aviation equipment and pilot life-support and rescue systems.

The company is Russia’s only serial manufacturer of ejection seats for all types of fighter and attack aircraft. It also produces aircraft cargo-handling equipment, including hoists (winches)and beam suspension racks.

It also manufactures surface-to-air guided missiles (SAMs), target missiles, and aerial target simulators.

Avitek is subject to international sanctions imposed by the United States, the European Union, Ukraine, Canada, Switzerland, and New Zealand for its role in manufacturing components for Russia’s military-industrial complex.

Previous Flamingo missile strikes

On July 1, it was reported that Ukrainian Flamingo cruise missile strikes carried out on June 27 destroyed parts of two buildings at the Titan-Barrikady plant in Volgograd.

The facility is a strategically important enterprise within Russia’s defense-industrial complex and is part of the state-owned Roscosmos corporation.

On June 27, it was reported that at least five Flamingo cruise missiles struck the Titan-Barrikady facility in Volgograd, which manufactures launchers for Russia’s strategic missile systems.

On June 10, Flamingo cruise missiles also struck the VNIIR-Progress defense enterprise in Cheboksary, which manufactures GNSS receivers and antennas for the GLONASS, GPS, and Galileo satellite navigation systems used by the Russian military.