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3 Years Ago It Was a Casting Agency. Now It Has $1 Billion in Drone Contracts.
3 Years Ago It Was a Casting Agency. Now It Has $1 Billion in Drone Contracts.
Among the flood of Ukrainian defense start-ups, one stands out to both its supporters and its critics: the drone maker Fire Point.
A worker inspecting an FP-1 drone at a factory of the arms manufacturer Fire Point in an undisclosed location in Ukraine in August. Efrem Lukatsky/Associated Press
By Andrew E. Kramer
Reporting from Kyiv, Ukraine
Oct. 26, 2025
Updated 8:53 a.m. ET
If Silicon Valley start-ups began in garages, the origin story of Ukraine’s defense start-ups lies in basements. There, many workshops cobbled together drones from off-the-shelf parts, going underground to avoid Russian missiles.
These once small-scale, volunteer-run outfits are now transforming into defense corporations, in a process encouraged by the government of President Volodymyr Zelensky to scale up innovations. Among the companies, one stands out to both its supporters and its critics for the speed and scale of its rise: an emerging drone-manufacturing giant called Fire Point.
At the start of the full-scale war in February 2022, the company that became Fire Point was a casting agency for film and television productions, according to Ukrainian government registration documents. Its legally listed owner, Yehor Skalyha, is the chief executive of another company, At Point, that scouts film locations. Fire Point’s chief technology officer, Iryna Terekh, previously ran a company that made concrete outdoor furniture.
Now, the company is one of the largest contractors for the Ukrainian military, with $1 billion in contracts this year, according to its executives. At about 30 secret locations in Ukraine, Fire Point churns out long-range exploding drones using cheap materials like Styrofoam, plywood, plastic and a type of carbon fiber intended for racing bicycles.
{snip}
A worker carrying part of a combat drone at a secret Fire Point factory in Ukraine in August. Fire Point claims that initial quality issues have been resolved. Efrem Lukatsky/Associated Press
{snip}
Oleksandr Chubko and Nataliia Novosolova contributed reporting.
[https://www.nytimes.com/by/andrew-e-kramerlink:https://www.nytimes.com/by/andrew-e-kramer|Andrew E. Kramer] is the Kyiv bureau chief for The Times, who has been covering the war in Ukraine since 2014.
Among the flood of Ukrainian defense start-ups, one stands out to both its supporters and its critics: the drone maker Fire Point.
A worker inspecting an FP-1 drone at a factory of the arms manufacturer Fire Point in an undisclosed location in Ukraine in August. Efrem Lukatsky/Associated Press
By Andrew E. Kramer
Reporting from Kyiv, Ukraine
Oct. 26, 2025
Updated 8:53 a.m. ET
If Silicon Valley start-ups began in garages, the origin story of Ukraine’s defense start-ups lies in basements. There, many workshops cobbled together drones from off-the-shelf parts, going underground to avoid Russian missiles.
These once small-scale, volunteer-run outfits are now transforming into defense corporations, in a process encouraged by the government of President Volodymyr Zelensky to scale up innovations. Among the companies, one stands out to both its supporters and its critics for the speed and scale of its rise: an emerging drone-manufacturing giant called Fire Point.
At the start of the full-scale war in February 2022, the company that became Fire Point was a casting agency for film and television productions, according to Ukrainian government registration documents. Its legally listed owner, Yehor Skalyha, is the chief executive of another company, At Point, that scouts film locations. Fire Point’s chief technology officer, Iryna Terekh, previously ran a company that made concrete outdoor furniture.
Now, the company is one of the largest contractors for the Ukrainian military, with $1 billion in contracts this year, according to its executives. At about 30 secret locations in Ukraine, Fire Point churns out long-range exploding drones using cheap materials like Styrofoam, plywood, plastic and a type of carbon fiber intended for racing bicycles.
{snip}
A worker carrying part of a combat drone at a secret Fire Point factory in Ukraine in August. Fire Point claims that initial quality issues have been resolved. Efrem Lukatsky/Associated Press
{snip}
Oleksandr Chubko and Nataliia Novosolova contributed reporting.
[https://www.nytimes.com/by/andrew-e-kramerlink:https://www.nytimes.com/by/andrew-e-kramer|Andrew E. Kramer] is the Kyiv bureau chief for The Times, who has been covering the war in Ukraine since 2014.