Fire Point responds to allegations of "arms market monopoly," Mindich, and "inflated prices"
Kyiv • UNN
Fire Point stated that it has not received government funding for development, has passed an audit by a Big Four firm, and characterized the allegations of a "monopoly" and "inflated prices" as an information attack.
Denys Shtilerman, chief designer and co-owner of Fire Point, has publicly responded to allegations leveled against the company by certain media outlets and civic activists in recent months. According to him, Fire Point has not received state funding for development, and the information pressure surrounding the company is already affecting defense contracts and international cooperation, UNN reports.
In an interview with journalist Olena Kurbanova, Shtilerman stated that Fire Point received no state funding for development, and all key systems were created at the company's own expense.
"I was asked what is needed from the state? I replied – nothing, just timely payment on contracts. Nothing else. We will do everything ourselves with our own money; we don't need money for R&D (research and development – ed.). We haven't received a single penny from the state for these developments. It's all a lie,"
In response to allegations of supposedly inflated prices for Fire Point products, Shtilerman stated that the company independently initiated an independent pricing audit through one of the "Big Four" firms. According to him, the audit lasted nine months and covered the entire supply chain and product cost formation.
"21.52% is our margin, while 25% is permissible,"
He also rejected allegations of the company's supposed "monopoly" in the long-range drone market. According to him, there are at least ten manufacturers of deep strike systems operating in Ukraine, and Fire Point's share was formed because the company was one of the first to begin scaling production.
"There are about 10 models of deep strike drones that the state procures. It just so happened that we didn't siphon money off anywhere, but reinvested it into expanding production. We were the only ones who scaled to such an extent. We produce about 55% of the long-range deep strike market. Why? Because we scaled. But there are 10 other manufacturers there,"
As a reminder,
The NABU confirmed the absence of any claims against Fire Point and its management in the case regarding the procurement of unmanned systems. The Bureau reported that no notices of suspicion were served to the company's managers or founders, and Fire Point itself does not have the status of a legal entity against which criminal law measures can be applied.