Video: Fire Point CEO Iryna Terekh Founded MILFTECH to Attract Women to the Defense Industry
Iryna Terekh, CEO and CTO of Fire Point, registered the MILFTECH trademark and spoke about the creation of the brand and community of the same name. The project aims to support women in STEM and attract new professionals to Ukraine’s defense-industrial complex.
She discussed this in an episode of FEDORIV VLOG. The company’s co-founder noted that Fire Point started with 18 people—friends and former colleagues. For security reasons, the first hires were made anonymously through Work.ua, and the first recruiter was brought on board only after the staff had grown to 50 people.
Iryna Terekh noted that the company now employs about 7,500 people, but women currently make up no more than 15% of the workforce. According to her, the idea for the name MILFTECH originally began as a joke by a military servicemember but has since evolved into a profound social and educational initiative.
“I realized that there are very few women in the defense industry or in STEM not because they lack the necessary skills, but because they didn’t know they could do it. No one told them about it; there was no culture or supportive society,” said Iryna Terekh.
She added that many female professionals have faced sexism throughout their careers, which has held them back from entering “male-dominated fields.” In her opinion, what matters in miltech is skill, not gender.
“There isn’t a single operation in our company that requires genitalia to perform it. So if our upcoming manifesto inspires someone to try their hand at something they’ve been told isn’t for girls, we’ll be happy to support them,” emphasized the head of Fire Point.
In the long term, the Milftech brand plans to publish a special manifesto, build a supportive community, and promote engineering education among girls and women of all ages.
Iryna Terekh is indeed handling the official legal registration of the MILFTECH brand. According to the trademark registry, an application was filed on March 2, 2026, under number m202603938 for the MILFTECH trademark (published on March 16, 2026). The applicant is Iryna Vyacheslavivna Terekh from the city of Irpin.
The trademark application covers classes 9, 12, 13, 25, 35, 41, and 42 of the Nice Classification. The list of goods and services includes the development of software, artificial intelligence, smart devices, protective equipment (body armor and helmets), civilian and military drones, automobiles, aviation, weapons, ammunition, and missile systems. The application also covers educational services, including drone pilot training, marketing services, and business consulting.
“I invite all girls, women, and perhaps even grandmothers—if they so desire—to join Ukraine’s existential struggle against Russia. And if you feel ready to change careers and have certain skills—because the skills needed aren’t limited to engineering—join our team. That’s the short-term goal. In the long term, I realize that I want to promote and raise awareness of the importance of engineering education among girls and women,” said Iryna Terekh.
Earlier, Fire Point announced a ballistic strike against Russia in the coming weeks.
On September 8, Iryna Terekh, CEO of the Ukrainian defense company Fire Point, stated that the company plans to deploy a ballistic missile designed and manufactured in Ukraine within a few months.
Fire Point is working on developing its own engine for the FP-5 Flamingo missile.
