On the eve of the expected counter-offensive, Britain announced the delivery of Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine.
Ukraine has finally received the long-range missiles it has been demanding from its Western allies for nearly a year. They will be Storm Shadow cruise missiles, designed for launching aircraft.
British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace confirmed information about the move, calling the move “Ukraine’s best chance to protect itself from Russia’s continued brutality.” He also added that the missiles were “leaving” or already in Ukraine. What is known about Storm Shadow and what their scope is, read in the story Correspondent.net.
Information about the rocket
The Storm Shadow is a long-range stealth cruise missile jointly developed by the UK and France that is normally air-launched. These missiles with a range are available in several modifications from 290 km to 560 km. It is not known exactly what change the Ukrainian military received. The mass of the Storm Shadow warhead is 450 kg, for example, the GMLRS missiles for HIMARS, which already use APU, have a warhead of 90 kg.
The important thing is that the Storm Shadow, even with the shortest range of 290 km, will be able to deliver a deep strike to the Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine. At the same time, according to the American television channel CNN, citing an unnamed Western official, London received guarantees from Kiev that the Armed Forces of Ukraine will use this missile exclusively on targets in the occupied territory of Ukraine, and not in the depths of the Russian Federation.
At the same time, the annexed Crimea to Britain is considered an occupied part of Ukraine – that is, Russian military installations on the peninsula can be considered reasonable targets for these missiles. Storm Shadow is also targeting the Crimean Bridge.
“The missile really changes the game in terms of range,” a senior military official told CNN.
According to MBDA Missile Systems, a European missile company, the Storm Shadow is a “deep strike weapon” capable of “operating day and night in all weathers” with an advanced navigation system for accuracy.
“After launch, the weapon descends above the terrain to avoid detection, and upon approaching the target, its onboard infrared homing mechanism matches the image of the target with the stored image to ensure accurate strike and minimal which is collateral damage,” the MBDA website said.
Where will the rockets go?
The possible attacks of these missiles on Crimea and the occupied parts of Ukraine in the south, southeast and southwest were confirmed by Paul Massaro, adviser of the US Commission on Security in Europe. However, he indicated that Ukraine received a Storm Shadow with a launch range of up to 300 kilometers.
Storm Shadow Range pic.twitter.com/Y4CR7OhZQ7
— Paul Massaro (@apmassaro3) May 11, 2023
Moreover, he believes that the Armed Forces of Ukraine will hit the rear of the Russian troops.
“Storm Shadows is really a weapon to win the war. All Russian military positions are now vulnerable. The Kerch bridge is vulnerable. Russian supplies need to be moved more,” Paul Massaro emphasized.
What will they launch?
Storm Shadows missiles will arrive in Ukraine on time and will be actively used during the counter-offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, military expert, Colonel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, believes pilot-instructor Roman Svitan. According to him, Ukrainian pilots can now use these missiles.
“Technically, we have this opportunity because of the adapters between the pylons on the old Soviet MIG-29 and SU-27. The adapter allows you to hang a rocket … So, in principle, we can launch them without any problems. . The installation of modern adapters or aircraft can already be with these NATO suspensions,” said the expert in a comment on ZAXID.NET.
According to him, the work of the aircraft in this sense is like an upper stage.
“That is, it raises the rocket to a certain height, accelerates it to the speed at which the rocket can stay in the air, and then drops the rocket, the wings open, the engine starts. Then the rocket, according to the commands, reached the target, which was hammered on the rocket for the ground. That is, the rocket is shown using GPS navigation,” explained Svitan.
The expert believes that 2-3 Storm Shadows missiles will be enough to decommission, for example, the Crimean Bridge, provided that none of them are shot down by Russian air defense.
news Correspondent.net on Telegram. Subscribe to our channel Athletistic
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.