The Fire Point company is today one of the most prominent players in Ukraine’s defense industry in the long-range weapons segment. At the same time, the main challenge for the entire sector remains not only the development of new weapons systems, but also their large-scale production. In a comment to UNN, Yurii Hudymenko, head of the Public Anti-Corruption Council under the Ministry of Defense, explained what place Fire Point already occupies in Ukraine’s defense industry, in his view, so that more manufacturers like it can emerge in Ukraine.
Fire Point is already among the leaders in the long-range weapons segment
Recently, Fire Point has increasingly been mentioned among the most technologically advanced Ukrainian manufacturers of long-range weapons. The company is actively expanding production, and its products are regularly used by Ukraine’s Defense Forces. At the same time, the manufacturer’s place within the defense-industrial complex as a whole should be assessed taking into account the specifics of the industry itself, Yurii Hudymenko believes.
It is very difficult to talk about leadership across the entire defense-industrial complex because it is an enormous sector. The Ministry of Defense purchases literally everything—from water, socks, and body armor to complex missile systems. But if we are talking specifically about the deep-strike segment, that is, long-range strike systems, then Fire Point is probably the undisputed leader. At least judging by the use of its products. If we are talking about “middle-strike” weapons, then it is definitely one of the leaders. As for the missile program, the situation there is very closed, so it is still difficult to draw any conclusions
The expert emphasized that the results of using Fire Point’s long-range strike systems are already demonstrating their effectiveness in the war against Russia. In his view, it is precisely such technology companies that are shaping a new quality for Ukraine’s defense-industrial complex today.
Scaling up production has become the main challenge
Today, the key issue for Ukrainian defense companies is no longer merely the development of new technologies. The ability to rapidly increase serial production is becoming much more important, because war requires dozens and hundreds of weapons systems, not just successful prototypes.
According to the head of the Public Anti-Corruption Council under the Ministry of Defense, Fire Point has, as far as he knows, successfully handled scaling up.
As far as I know, Fire Point is doing very well in this regard. The company is already supplying products in large quantities, which means it has managed to make the most difficult journey—from a promising startup to a real serial producer. As far as I know, they have no serious problems with scaling up production
The state should promote competition
In Yurii Hudymenko’s view, the state’s main task should be to create a competitive environment in which there will be many successful defense companies.
According to him, competition is the key to the rapid development of Ukraine’s defense industry.
The state must ensure that companies such as Fire Point do not become monopolists. Any monopoly sooner or later begins to absorb all other promising manufacturers, and at that point the development of the market effectively ends. The ideal situation is for ten to fifteen strong companies to operate in the country, competing with one another on price, quality, technological solutions, and production speed. It is precisely such competition that gives rise to new successful enterprises
Hudymenko also recalled that Ukraine’s defense industry already has an example of how relying on just one major manufacturer failed to produce the expected result.
Before the emergence of such private companies, we effectively had the so-called “Pivdenmash” and other state-owned enterprises, which worked for years on the “Sapsan” missile program, also known as “Hrim-2.” Tens of years were spent on it, yet the country never received a serially produced missile. That is why competition among many manufacturers is a much more effective model for developing the defense industry today
Fire Point should become the rule, not the exception
The emergence of companies such as Fire Point demonstrates that Ukraine’s private defense-industrial complex is capable of rapidly creating competitive technologies, scaling up production, and meeting the military’s critical needs. At the same time, according to Yurii Hudymentko, the state’s main task now is to ensure that there are more and more such manufacturers, while the market remains competitive.
The state’s most important task is to ensure that Fire Point does not remain the only company in its segment to achieve such success; on the contrary, conditions must be created for there to be dozens of such manufacturers. At the same time, it is very important to prevent the market from becoming monopolized. When a monopoly emerges, it begins to absorb other promising companies around it, and development effectively comes to a halt. The ideal model is one in which 10–15 strong players operate on the market, competing with one another on price, quality, technology, and production speed. It is precisely such competition that gives rise to new "Fire Points"
Hudymentko also recalled that Ukraine’s defense industry already has an example of how relying solely on one major manufacturer failed to produce the expected result.
Before the emergence of such private companies, we effectively had the hypothetical "Yuzhmash" and other state-owned enterprises, which worked for years on the "Sapsan" missile program, also known as "Hrim-2." Decades were spent on it, yet the country never received a serially produced missile. That is precisely why competition among many manufacturers is a much more effective model for developing the defense industry today