On May 11, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace confirmed information about the transfer to Ukraine of Storm Shadow long-range stealth cruise missiles, which can reach Russian territory. Russian media understood what kind of reaction could follow from Moscow, what these missiles are and how they will affect the course of hostilities.
“I decided to supply Ukraine with longer range weapons <…> I can confirm that the UK is transferring Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine. They are long range missiles. declared Ben Wallace speaking in the House of Commons. According to the minister, Storm Shadow is added to the long-range weapons already transferred to Kyiv – HIMARS multiple rocket launcher systems and Harpoon anti-ship missiles.
At the moment, missiles are “delivered (to Ukraine) or are in the country itself”, writes the newspaper The Guardian, referrer to Wallace’s statement. CNN television channel transmits that the missiles had already been delivered to Ukraine.
Moscow reacted “very negatively” to London’s decision to transfer missiles to Kyiv. “This will require an adequate response from our military, which, naturally, from a military point of view, will take the appropriate decisions in this context”, declared Press secretary to Russian President Dmitry Peskov.
Features of Storm Shadow
The Storm Shadow rocket was developed in 1994 by the joint efforts of two manufacturers of aerospace equipment and weapon systems: the French Matra and the British British Aerospace.
Today, the rocket is produced by the company founded MBDA (Matra BAE Dynamics Alenia), which is part of the British group BAE Systems (formerly British Aerospace). The company is exclusively engaged in the production of missile weapons, based in France and has subsidiaries in the UK, Germany and Italy.
The warhead is equipped with two charges: the first is used to destroy the ground and penetrate the missile into underground structures, and the second charge explodes with a delay already inside the target – for example, a bunker. The weight of the rocket is 1300 kg with a length of 6.5 m with a wingspan of 3 m.
The rocket is equipped with a turbojet engine, which allows it to reach speeds of 1000 km/h (depending on the flight altitude), the flight range reaches 560 km. There is also an export version of the Storm Shadow – in this configuration the range is limited to 250 km. During his speech in the House of Commons, Defense Secretary Ben Wallace did not specify which version of the missile was handed over to Ukraine.
When Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov called on the West to transfer new long-range weapons to the Ukrainian armed forces, he called for missiles “capable of striking at a distance of up to 300 km”. His words son The Washington Post. Reznikov also promised to give guarantees that Western weapons would not be used to attack Russian territory.
The use of the Storm Shadow missile is based on the “fire and forget” principle – the flight path is set in advance, the missile cannot be controlled or ordered to self-destruct after launch.
Hit Storm Shadow’s target with GPS. The rocket does not fly along a single trajectory. First, it reaches the target area at low altitude, after which it gains altitude near the target and dives. When diving, the missile is guided by a thermal imaging homing head.
How Ukraine can use missiles
The missile was first used by the British Air Force during the invasion of Iraq in 2003. They were also used during the NATO intervention in the civil war in Libya in 2011 – then the French, Italian and British air forces used it.
The missile can be launched from the air. Italian Tornado jets, Eurofighter Typhoon multi-role fighters, French Dassault Mirage 2000 and Dassault Rafale multi-role fighters and American F-35 multi-role fighter-bombers can be used as aircraft carriers. With the exception of the Tornado, all other aircraft are fourth or fifth generation.
Given the skepticism of NATO countries about supplying Kiev with aircraft of their own design, the question arises of how to use the Storm Shadow delivered to Ukraine. The Washington Post newspaper complaints that the missiles can also be used with the help of planes inherited by Ukraine as a legacy of the USSR.
Storm Shadow will give Kyiv new long-range strike capability ahead of Ukrainian offensive, Western officials say CNN . The missile is a “game changer in terms of range,” a senior US military official told CNN.
According to one of CNN’s sources, the UK has received assurances from Ukrainian authorities that the Storm Shadow will not be used to strike deep into Russia. At the same time, the channel points out that British officials have publicly called Crimea a sovereign territory of Ukraine on several occasions.
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