British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who visited Ukraine on Independence Day, brought important news in the field of missile weaponry.
The British government has allowed the defense company MBDA to declassify information about British components of the long-range SCALP missiles.
SCALP is the French version of the British Storm Shadow. Both missiles were developed using joint British and French technologies.
The transfer of this data is expected to assist France and Ukraine in advancing the establishment of SCALP production directly in Ukraine.
According to the British Prime Minister’s office, this step continues London’s policy, which in 2023 was the first to transfer long-range strike weapons to Ukraine for defense purposes.
It is now not only about supplying ready-made missiles. Ukraine is to gain the capability to produce them partially or entirely on its own territory.
The declassification of information on British components is expected to help the French and Ukrainian sides advance in creating local production lines.
This is also part of broader efforts by the UK to rapidly develop modern and relatively inexpensive long-range strike means for Ukraine under the Brakestop project.
Producing long-range missiles directly in Ukraine could potentially reduce Kyiv’s dependence on ready-made ammunition from abroad and allow for a quicker increase in their quantity.
Russia, through the Kremlin’s spokesperson, has already condemned this move by Britain.
Information about the missiles
The long-range SCALP missile weighs 1300 kg and has a length of 5.10 m.
It can strike targets at a distance of about 240 km deep into Russia – not as great a distance as Ukrainian drones capable of hitting deep behind enemy lines, but it is a significant step demonstrating the willingness of international partners to share weapon technologies.
The manufacturer states that the missiles are intended to strike predetermined stationary targets.
They can be used day and night in any weather conditions, and they are equipped with modern navigation systems.
According to the publication Missilery, the design of the SCALP missile includes reduced radar visibility, making it harder to detect by enemy ground radars. The missile’s speed reaches 1500 km/h.
How they are used by the Ukrainian Air Force
In May 2023, Britain announced the provision of Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine. In July of the same year, France stated it would provide Ukraine with SCALP missiles.
It is known that the missiles supplied by Britain can be launched from military aircraft, whereas those provided by France can also be launched from ships and submarines.
In Ukraine, these missiles are launched from old Soviet Su-24M bombers. The Air Force uses these missiles to strike various areas of Russian territory and occupied territories.
“No one thought the Su-24 aircraft would become a powerful missile carrier and master ‘storms’ and ‘scalps,’ executing fire missions deep into enemy territory,” said Air Force Commander Alexander Dyakov on August 22.
The Storm Shadow cruise missiles were developed by the European multinational company MBDA in the 1990s and entered service with the British, French, and other armies in the early 2000s.
“Storm Shadow/SCALP is a long-range air weapon with a conventional nature designed for deep strikes during pre-planned attacks on significant stationary targets,” states the description on the manufacturer’s website.
“The original missile, created with active use of stealth technology, has a range of up to 560 km. The total weight of the SCALP missile is 1300 kg, with 450 kg of it being the warhead,” describes the missile Ukrainian publication Defense Express.
It is known that Ukraine was to receive an export version of the Storm Shadow from Britain with a range of about 250 km.
This is somewhat less than the range of American ground-to-ground tactical missile systems ATACMS for launches from HIMARS. However, Washington refused due to, it is believed, fears of escalation resulting from possible strikes on Russia.
“To break through air defenses, this missile uses a classic low-altitude flight at subsonic speed. The guidance accuracy is ensured by a whole set of modern systems – inertial and satellite navigation system, a mode comparing the reference image with the available one – DSMAC,” states Defense Express about its characteristics.
On the cover: SCALP EG missile under the wing of a Ukrainian Su-24M bomber. Photo: Military
