France will transfer SCALP cruise missiles to Ukraine

11 July, 2023 Storm Shadow cruise missile. Images from open sources French President Macron announced the transfer of long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine at the NATO summit in Vilnius.

French La Monde reported about this. "We have decided to deliver to Ukraine new missiles capable of delivering deep strikes," Macron said upon arrival at the summit site in Vilnius, Lithuania. "I think it is important for us today to send a message of support for Ukraine, of NATO unity, and of determination that Russia cannot, must not win this war," he added. On July 11, President Emmanuel Macron announced that France would provide Ukraine with SCALP long-range cruise missiles to help strike targets deep beyond the Russian invaders' rear.

The terms of the transfer of these long-range cruise missiles are currently unknown. However, when announcing the transfer of the missiles, the UK emphasized that it had received assurances from the Ukrainian government that they would be used only to defeat Russian invasion forces within the sovereign territory of Ukraine, and not to strike at Russian territory. The Franco-British SCALP missile, also known as Storm Shadow, is designed to be aircraft-launched.

It has a flight weight of up to 1,300 kg, and its warhead weight is 450 kg. The declared launch range of this cruise missile is more than 250 km in the export version, and up to 560 km for the French and British militaries. The planned missiles are being transferred to Ukraine from the French Armed Forces' own stockpile.

Use of Storm Shadow/SCALP in Ukraine

Since May, Ukrainian combat aircraft have been using Storm Shadow high-precision cruise missiles handed over by the UK to strike targets of the Russian invasion forces in the temporarily occupied territory.

Oleksii Reznikov noted that the Ukrainian servicemen have been using these long-range cruise missiles with 100% efficiency. "Of the total number of Storm Shadow launches that have already taken place, all 100% hits on targets determined by the General Staff are 100 out of 100," the Minister of Defense said. At the moment, the only known carrier of cruise missiles in Ukraine is the Su-24M front-line bomber, modernized and equipped with hardpoints capable to carry Western weapons.

A Ukrainian Su-24 bomber carrying two Storm Shadow cruise missiles under its wings, June 2023

It is reported that to hit targets, the missiles are usually launched in a volley of several missiles together with ADM-160B MALD decoy missiles to breakthrough the enemy's air defense.

Since May, a number of Russian military facilities were successfully hit, including in areas with dense SAM coverage.

For example, strikes were reported on the invader positions in Luhansk, Berdiansk, Mariupol, ammunition depots, and bridges across the Chonhar Strait.