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Although the missiles are considered a category 1 weapon, and so there is a “strong presumption” that they will not be exported to other countries, officials pointed to the fact that an exception can be made “on rare occasions” where there is a demonstrable need. Ukraine has been gradually amassing western tanks and armoured vehicles as it seeks to build up a counterattack force of 12 brigades aimed at breaking through Russian lines and demonstrating that it could be possible for Kyiv to push the invaders out of the country. Although the White House said last month it would supply a cluster-munition version of ATACMs, it is not yet clear when they will be delivered. Hitting deeper against bigger logistics hubs and command points is now key to success for Ukraine, Mr Zagorodnyuk said. But Moscow quickly moved targets further back out of reach, and since then the front lines have been largely frozen.
A Ukrainian Cruise Missile With A Special Warhead Blew Up That Russian Submarine From The Inside - Forbes
A Ukrainian Cruise Missile With A Special Warhead Blew Up That Russian Submarine From The Inside.
Posted: Mon, 18 Sep 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
SCALP EG / Storm Shadow / SCALP Naval / Black Shaheen / APACHE AP
As CNN has reported, Ukraine's current maximum range on US-provided weapons is around 49 miles. Due to Storm Shadow’s considerable range, Ukrainian jets could release the missile from relatively safe airspace. That said, to delay/avoid detection by Russian ground-based radars and attack from an unpredictable angle, Ukraine may opt for launch from low altitude—even if that reduces the maximum range and requires getting closer. There may therefore still be some need to dodge patrolling Russian MiG-31 interceptors, and Su-35 fighters scanning from above and primed to launch very-long-range R-37M missile.
US aid will give Ukraine breathing space - it won't be enough to beat Russia
It’s unclear whether Ukraine has received fully capable Storm Shadows, or a reduced range model so as to adhere to the MTCR arms control regime, which ordinarily discouraged export of missiles with a range exceeding 190 miles. In the fighting around Kherson during Ukraine's counteroffensive last fall, Russia sustained and eventually withdrew its forces using one bridge and a ferry system. "You'd be surprised how many forces can be sustained with a fairly narrow pipeline when it comes to ground lines of communication," Kofman said. The Storm Shadow is also in service with the air forces of Egypt, India, Italy, Greece, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
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Britain’s role as chief provocateur in the lead up to and during NATO’s war against Russia is a matter of record. It has also led the way in ensuring ever-more lethal military hardware has been flooded into Ukraine, with the resulting mass loss of life, both Ukrainian and Russian, not even an afterthought. Blinken said in a press conference, “We applaud the UK’s pledge to match in 2023 the $2.3 billion in military support that it provided to Ukraine during the first year of the war.
His comments are the clearest sign yet that the Ukrainian military push, on which the outcome of the war may depend, is unlikely to take place in the next few weeks. Long-range attacks on key Russian military sites in Crimea and elsewhere deep in occupied territory are likely to be a prelude to any frontline assault. Settlements close to the front lines had also been shelled, including 35 airstrikes and four attacks from MLRS [rocket systems] on the positions of Ukrainian troops and settlements of the Kherson region, it added. The deployment of the missiles comes as Ukrainian forces prepare to launch a counteroffensive intended to retake Kremlin-held territory in the eastern and the southern parts of the country. Mr Wallace wrote to Russian defence secretary Sergei Shoigu in December, warning that further attacks could lead to the UK donating more powerful weapons to Ukraine.
British sources said giving Storm Shadow missiles was compatible with the UK’s signature to the voluntary missile technology control regime, which is intended to limit the proliferation of cruise missiles. Bronk said that although Nato standard weapons, Storm Shadows could be mounted under the Soviet-standard jets used by Ukraine’s air force, and, as with any cruise missile, could be pre-programmed from the ground. The Storm Shadow is a long-range cruise missile with stealth capabilities, jointly developed by the UK and France, which is typically launched from the air. With a firing range in excess of 250km, or 155 miles, it is just short of the 185-mile range capability of the US-made surface-to-surface Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, that Ukraine has long asked for.
It’s unclear how, exactly, the Ukrainian Air Force plans on deploying the Storm Shadow. According to manufacturer MBDA, the missile is operated by Tornado, Rafale, Mirage 2000, and, in the future, the Eurofighter Typhoon. As The War Zone notes, the missile is nearly 2,900 pounds and likely too heavy for employment by the country’s fleet of MiG-29 Fulcrum or Su-25 Frogfoot jets, making it’s Su-27 Flanker and Su-24 Fencer aircraft the top choices to get the missiles in the air. The British-supplied missiles can only be fired by aircraft, but French missiles can be fired from ships and submarines. But he warned the range of the British-supplied Storm Shadows was "not in the same league" as Russia's own missile systems - with some of Moscow's weapons being able to travel far further. In theory, then, Storm Shadow and similar weapons could give Ukrainian planners a second “happy period,” as Russian depots and HQs again fall into convenient precision-strike range—potentially devastating if timed to coincide with Ukraine’s anticipated 2023 counteroffensive.
The UK will send more Storm Shadow long-range missiles to Ukraine as part of its single biggest military aid package to the country since Russia’s invasion, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said. Overall, Storm Shadow is a potent long-distance strike weapon Ukraine will have to employ judiciously for maximum effect—though even the likely modest number transferred to Ukraine will likely to cause anxiety to Russian logisticians, commanders, and air defense personnel. Fortunately for Ukraine, Storm Shadow donations are more likely to be scalable than the UK’s rare Challenger 2 tanks, as the missiles are also in France’s inventory—under the designation SCALP-EG—and Italy’s. On Monday, the Washington Post reported that the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) had issued a call to weapons manufacturers, on behalf of the International Fund for Ukraine (IFU), to supply missiles capable of striking Russian-annexed Crimea or cities deep inside Russia’s borders. Over £300 million in funding has been made available through donations from the UK, Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, plus Iceland and Lithuania. The missile is fitted with a two-stage bomb royal ordnance augmented charge (BROACH) blast/ penetrator warhead.
A look at the Storm Shadow cruise missile Great Britain has announced it will provide Ukraine. The Ukrainian military says its troops are conducting "effective counterattacks" in the Bakhmut area after they inflicted "huge losses" on Russian forces Wednesday. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow would take an “appropriate” military response to any Storm Shadow missiles used by Ukraine. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the missiles would give Ukrainians the “best chance to defend themselves” as Russia continues its “deliberate targeting of Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, which is against international law”. "If we could strike at a distance of up to 300 kilometres, the Russian army wouldn't be able to provide defence and will have to lose," he told an EU meeting.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) approached MBDA for recalibrating the software of Rafale fighter jet’s SCALP missile in December 2020. The French Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA) awarded a development and production contract to MBDA Systems in December 1997. The French version, known as SCALP, is intended for the Mirage 2000D and Rafale aircraft. Wallace said the US was “incredibly supportive” of the UK’s decision, and said ATACMS missiles were not as suitable as Storm Shadow, which is designed to be able to strike defensive positions below ground. Storm Shadow has a range of “in excess of 250km”, according to its manufacturer, the European arms group MBDA. That is significantly further than the high-precision US Himars rocket launchers currently used heavily by Ukraine, which rely on missiles with a range of 47 miles.
Ukraine’s small surviving air force runs about 12 or so missions a day, its pilots often flying a few metres above ground to evade detection. The gift of the missiles was supported by the US, Wallace added, although previously Washington had declined to give Ukraine long-range missiles of its own, fearing that the outcome could escalate hostilities in the 15-month war. The Wall Street Journal reported that British officials tried to reassure German colleagues by briefing them in detail about Ukraine’s use of the Storm Shadow, including sharing classified information that showed Ukraine would not use them on targets the UK would not approve.
Storm Shadow was first used in combat during the 2003 invasion of Iraq by now-retired British Tornado jets. France’s SCALP-EG missiles followed in 2011, deployed by Mirage 2000Ds and carrier-based Rafale-M jets in the campaign to overthrow Qaddafi in Libya. In the mid-2010s, the UK and France also employed the missiles against ISIS in Iraq and Syria, and in strikes punishing the Syrian government for its use of chemical weapons.
Himars have become less effective as the Russian invaders have moved reserves of troops and equipment out of their range. Reflecting such concerns, the minister said the decision was “a calibrated and proportionate response” to the Russian invasion, and in particular Moscow’s repeated targeting of Ukrainian civilians. While no one weapon will win the war, more long-range missiles are critical for Ukraine, said Mr Zagorodnyuk. It is slightly heavier than the Franco-British weapon and was designed specifically to destroy large infrastructure like bridges, command bunkers and ships. The arrival of Himars rocket launchers with a range of up to 50 miles last summer temporarily allowed Ukraine to batter Russia's logistics and command, leading to tactical withdrawal from Kherson. A little over a week earlier, on September 13, Storm Shadows hit the Sevastopol shipyard which is home to Russia’s Black Sea fleet.
With long-range weapons so important to Ukraine's strategy, Kyiv clearly wants its supporters to donate more. Neither Britain nor France has said how many Storm Shadows were delivered to Ukraine, but neither country is thought to have large stocks to give and both want to hold back supplies for themselves. The missile's dual-action, bunker-busting 450kg (992lb) warhead is designed to take on hardened targets. An initial shaped charge cuts a passage through armour, concrete or earth, allowing a larger following warhead to penetrate inside the target and detonate. The strike in Sevastopol showed the full impact of a UK long-range cruise missile that Ukraine has in recent months been using to devastating effect. The Prime Minister is understood to have received assurances from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that the missiles will not be used for anything other than defensive purposes.
France has also developed and deployed a sea-launched version for use on its naval ship and submarines. As well as the Storm Shadows, which are precision-guided cruise missiles with a firing range in excess of 250 kilometers (155 miles), Britain is also sending more than 1,600 strike and air defense missiles, Sunak’s office said. The package amounts to £500 million ($620 million) of new spending, taking total UK military aid to Ukraine this financial year to £3 billion. Some observers believe Storm Shadow will be crucial to Ukraine's counteroffensive. The missile's 155-mile range allows Ukrainian jets to launch it while staying out of range of Russian air defenses.
Theoretically, Ukraine could also cobble together means to ground-launch Storm Shadows, accepting a significantly reduced range. But because Storm Shadows don’t require fire control instructions from the launching fighter, they should be comparatively easy to add onto the Ukrainian Air Force’s Soviet warplanes. The armor-penetrating precursor blasts a hole into the target’s surface, allowing the larger main charge to pass inside the targeted structure before detonating—making BROACH effective against hardened targets like underground storage facilities and bunkers. But the real bullseye falls on Russia’s extensive military infrastructure on the Crimean Peninsula, including airbases and much of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. Russia had leased bases in that area from Ukraine for two decades, only for Putin to invade the entire peninsula in 2014. But since Ukraine began using the missiles in mid-May, "we've not seen tremendous impact on the Russian force," Kofman said, "and part the reason for that is the adaptations in the Russian military that were caused by the introduction of HIMARS last June."
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