Britain supplied Ukraine with Storm Shadow cruise missiles – CNN
11 May, 2023 Storm Shadow cruise missile. Photo from open sources The United Kingdom has provided the Armed Forces of Ukraine with Storm Shadow cruise missiles.
CNN reported this with reference to multiple senior Western officials. This is giving Ukrainian forces a new long-range strike capability before the Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russian invasion forces. The Storm Shadow, also known as the SCALP, is a cruise missile designed to destroy critical land-based stationary targets, jointly developed by the UK and France.
These missiles have the range to strike deep into the territories of Ukraine captured by the Russian invaders.
Storm Shadow missile on the Typhoon fighter.
2021. Photo credits: EPS
A Western official told CNN that the UK has received assurances from the Ukrainian government that these missiles will be used only within Ukrainian sovereign territory and not inside Russia. However, the Ukrainian Air Force Command commented to Hromadske that they do not know anything about the supply of these weapons to Ukraine.
The design of the Storm Shadow/SCALP missile by the MBDA company applied a number of measures to reduce its radar visibility. This missile was adopted by the Royal Air Force and the Air Force of France in 2003.
Storm Shadow cruise missile. Photo credits: MBDA
The missile weighs about 1,300 kilograms, and the weight of the warhead is 450 kg.
The declared operational range of this cruise missile is more than 250 km in the export version, and up to 560 km for the French and British armies. The flight of the missile to the target takes place at an altitude of 30-40 m with a maximum speed of up to 1000 km/h, depending on the height of the flight.
Storm Shadow cruise missile. Photo credits: MBDA
The missile has a tandem-charge warhead.
First, the HEAT pierces armor, concrete, or ground, and then the main charge pierces the inside of the target to inflict maximum damage.
The main targets for these cruise missiles are the enemy's important military facilities: command posts, ammunition depots, bridges, and other strategic facilities.
In February of this year, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stated that his country would be the first to provide Ukraine with long-range weapons to counter the Russian invasion.