Hudymenko considers Fire Point the leader of Ukraine’s defense industry in the deep-strike segment
Kyiv • UNN
Yurii Hudymenko, head of the Public Anti-Corruption Council under the Ministry of Defense, believes that the defense company Fire Point has become the leader among long-range weapons manufacturers. The state’s task is to support competition in the arms market
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 creation of new weapons systems, but also their large-scale production. Yurii Hudymenko, Head of the Public Anti-Corruption Council under the Ministry of Defense, told UNN what position Fire Point already occupies, in his view, within Ukraine’s defense industry, so that more manufacturers like it emerge in Ukraine.
Fire Point is already among the leaders in the long-range weapons segment
Recently, Fire Point has been mentioned increasingly often among the most technologically advanced Ukrainian manufacturers of long-range weapons. The company is actively increasing production, and its products are regularly used by Ukraine’s Defense Forces. At the same time, Yurii Hudymenko believes that assessing the manufacturer’s position within the defense-industrial complex as a whole requires taking the specifics of the sector itself into account.
"It is very difficult to talk about leadership across the entire defense-industrial complex, because it is a huge 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 ‘mid-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," Hudymenko said.
The expert emphasized that the results of the use of Fire Point’s long-range strike weapons are already demonstrating their effectiveness in the war against russia. In his view, it is precisely such technology companies that are creating a new level of 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 only the development of new technologies. The ability to rapidly increase serial production is becoming much more important, since war requires dozens and hundreds of weapons systems, not merely successful prototypes.
According to the Head of the Public Anti-Corruption Council under the Ministry of Defense, Fire Point has successfully managed to scale up, as far as he knows.
"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 manufacturer. As far as I know, they have no serious problems with scaling up production," the expert noted.
The state must promote competition
In Yurii Hudymenko’s view, the state’s main task should be to create a competitive environment in which there are 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 like Fire Point do not become monopolists. Any monopoly sooner or later begins to absorb all other promising manufacturers, and market development effectively ends at that point. 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 this competition that gives rise to new successful enterprises," he emphasized.
Hudymenko also recalled that Ukraine’s defense industry already has an example in which relying on only one large manufacturer failed to produce the expected result.
"Before the emergence of such private companies, we effectively had the conditional ‘Pivdenmash’ and other state-owned enterprises that worked for years on the ‘Sapsan’ missile program, also known as ‘Hrim-2.’ Decades were spent on it, but 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," the expert concluded.
Fire Point must become the rule, not the exception
The emergence of companies such as Fire Point demonstrates that Ukraine’s private defense-industrial sector is capable of rapidly developing competitive technologies, scaling up production, and meeting the military’s critical needs. At the same time, in Yuriy Hudymenko’s view, the state’s main task now is to ensure that there are more and more manufacturers like this, 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 need to 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 in the market and compete with one another on price, quality, technology, and production speed. It is precisely this kind of competition that gives rise to new ‘Fire Points,’" he said.
Hudymenko also recalled that Ukraine’s defense industry already has an example of a situation in which relying solely on one large manufacturer failed to deliver the expected result.
"Before the emergence of such private companies, we essentially had the notional ‘Pivdenmash’ and other state-owned enterprises, which worked on the ‘Sapsan’ missile program, also known as ‘Hrim-2,’ for years. Decades were spent on it, yet the country never received a serially produced missile. That is why competition among many manufacturers is a far more effective model for developing the defense industry today," the expert concluded.