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Storm Shadow / SCALP Long-Range, Air-Launched, Stand-Off Attack Missile

The Storm Shadow / SCALP is a long-range, air-launched, stand-off attack missile offered by France-based MBDA Systems primarily for the UK and French armed forces. It is derived from the MBDA Systems’ Apache anti-runway missile.

Long-range, air-launched, stand-off attack missile

Manufacturer

MBDA Systems

Primary Operators

UK and France

Turbojet engine

Launch Weight

The missile is intended to strike high-valued stationary assets such as airbases, radar installations, communications hubs and port facilities. The Storm Shadow can engage the targets precisely in any weather conditions during day and night. The long range and low attitude combined with subsonic speed make the Storm Shadow a stealthy missile.

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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). It is referred to as Black Shaheen in the UAE Air Force service.

The Storm Shadow can be integrated into Tornado GR4, Tornado IDS, Saab Gripen, Mirage 2000, Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) aircraft. In March 2021, the missile was launched by UK Royal Air Force’s Eurofighter Typhoon for the first time on operations against the Islamic State in Iraq.

Storm Shadow programme and order details

The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) placed a €1.13bn contract with MBDA Systems for the development and production of the Storm Shadow long range missile in 1997. The programme was intended to meet the conventionally armed stand-off missile (CASOM) requirement of the UK Royal Air Force (RAF).

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.

In October 1999, Italy placed an order for the Storm Shadow weapon for the deployment on the IDS Tornado of the Italian Air Force. In the same year, the UAE awarded a contract to MBDA System for the Storm Shadow missiles for its Mirage 2000-9 fleet.

The government of Greece awarded a contract in August 2000 to equip Mirage 2000-5 Mk2 fighters of the Hellenic Air Force with Storm Shadow missiles. Greece also placed another order in December 2003 for additional missiles.

Storm Shadow was successfully fired from the RAF’s Tornado GR4 aircraft during Operation Telic in 2003. The SCALP missile entered into service with the French Air Force in 2004. The missile was operated for the first time by France in March 2011.

In February 2017, MBDA led the mid-life refurbishment of Storm Shadow / SCALP EG cruise missiles for the UK and French Ministries of Defence.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) approached MBDA for recalibrating the software of Rafale fighter jet’s SCALP missile in December 2020. The upgrade allows the missile to hit targets up to 4,000m above sea level.

Design features of Storm Shadow

The Storm Shadow missile is designed to penetrate deep into hard rock targets. It is equipped with fire-and-forget technology and fully autonomous guidance. The missile has a length of 5.1m, wingspan of 3m, and a body diameter of 0.48m. It weighs 1,300kg and has a range of more than 250km.

Storm Shadow guidance and navigation system

The Storm Shadow missile is designed to strike the targets with an enhanced accuracy, employing different navigation systems installed onboard.

The navigation system of the missile includes inertial navigation (INS), global positioning system (GPS) and terrain reference navigation for better control over the path and accurate target strike. The missile is fitted with a passive imaging infrared seeker.

The Storm Shadow missile is programmed with every detail of the target and the path to be taken to reach the target prior to its launch. Once released from the aircraft, the missile follows a pre-programmed path at low level with the help of continuous updates from the onboard navigation system. It employs imaging infrared seeker to compare the actual target area with stored imagery repeatedly until reaching the target.

Storm Shadow warhead

The missile is fitted with a two-stage bomb royal ordnance augmented charge (BROACH) blast/ penetrator warhead.

The first stage of the warhead makes the way for the second stage by cutting the surface of the target. The larger second stage (main) of the warhead then penetrates into the target and detonates.

Storm Shadow propulsion system

The Storm Shadow missile is equipped with a Turbomeca Microturbo TRI 60-30 turbojet propulsion system, which can produce a 5.4kN of thrust.

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The U.K. Has Given Ukraine the Storm Shadow: A Western Missile on a Soviet Warbird

Russian forces in Crimea better watch out.

Despite extensive military assistance to Ukraine, transfers of two types of military hardware have remained taboo for Ukraine’s allies: modern Western-designed jet fighters, and long range land-attack missiles.

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.

While not fast like Russia’s Kinzhal aerial ballistic missile , the five-meter-long Storm Shadow is noted for its high degree of stealth, AI-driven image-matching terminal guidance system, and bunker-busting two-stage warhead (as further detailed below). Because it’s entirely pre-programmed for its targets prior to takeoff, it should be easier to integrate onto Ukraine’s Soviet warplanes than other advanced Western guided weapons.

Western governments feared Ukraine might use long-range missiles for attacks on Russian soil deemed politically provocative, which could incite escalatory retaliation. That, along with limited inventory, has most notably kept the U.S. from donating 190-mile range ATACMS ballistic missiles that are ordinarily compatible with the HIMARS and M270 rocket artillery systems donated to Ukraine.

Wallace stated that the Storm Shadows were supplied with assurances from Ukraine that they would only be used for strikes on Russian-occupied parts of the country, such as logistical centers in Starobilsk and Melitopol.

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.

The politics of Donated Missiles

Given that the donation from the UK sounds like it was in limited quantity (“a number”), the UK’s Storm Shadow may effectively be more a political play than a military one, much like when the country donated Western-designed main battle tanks.

Though the latter quantity was relatively small— 14 Challenger 2 tanks —it may have helped end hesitation for much larger subsequent donations of Leopard 2 and M1 tanks from the U.S. and continental Europe. The UK has been less concerned by the ‘but how will Putin react?’ factor than France or Germany.

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. Both are major donors to Ukraine. The French Navy also uses a longer-range ship-launched variant called the MdCn.

Western governments might see whether Middle Eastern Storm Shadow clients (Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE) are amenable to quietly selling back missiles in exchange for newly-built replacements later. Those sold to the Middle East are believed to be a downgraded variant with 180-mile range sometimes dubbed the Black Shaheen—still potentially useful for Ukraine’s purposes.

Origins of Storm Shadow

Not to be confused with the G.I. Joe villain of the same name, Storm Shadow/SCALP is a French-U.K. joint venture built by European missile-maker MBDA and based on the Apache runway-cratering missile. It and Germany’s KEPD-350 air-launched cruise missile are the most numerous European-built equivalents to the U.S.’s arsenal of Tomahawk land-attack missiles , which have much longer range and are primarily (but not exclusively) sea-launched.

Storm Shadow doesn’t use any input from the carrying aircraft before or after launch. Instead, it’s pre-programmed on the ground to follow waypoints to the target area autonomously using inertial and GPS navigation—usually skimming at just 100-130 feet above the ground to further reduce radar detectability. Supported by pop-out wings, it flies just below the speed of sound powered by small TRI 60-30 turbojet engine and boasts a low radar-cross section due to its non-reflective geometry.

Once near the target, the missile lunges upwards–tossing off its pointy nose cone and exposing the infrared sensor within—and uses its elevated vantage to scan the ground below, searching for anything that resembles preloaded satellite images of the target using an early AI-driven technology called DSMAC (Digital Scene Matching Area Correlator.)

If the missile can’t find the target, it can be assigned a crash point so as not to risk collateral damage. But on finding a match, it swoops down and, just before impact, discharges the pre-cursor charge of its nearly half-ton (992-pound) BROACH warhead.

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.

And while a Storm Shadow can go further and has a much larger warhead than a GMRL rocket, it’s also 4-5 times more expensive, so Ukraine will receive a far smaller number. That means each shot will have to count, and there won’t be an indefinite resupply of missiles, making avoiding interception even more pertinent.

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.

Western Missiles on Soviet Warbirds

Storm Shadow/SCALP is designed to be lofted from aircraft, and has been integrated into Sweden’s JAS-39 Gripen fighter , France’s Mirage 2000 and newer Rafale fighters , and Tornado jets and newer Eurofighter Typhoons built by Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom.

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.

Ukraine has already managed to mount AGM-88 HARM anti-radar missiles on its MiG-29 jets , a modification likely enabled by the fact the HARM has a built-in seeker. Due to Storm Shadow’s considerable size and weight, it may seek to mount it on large-but-fast Su-24 Fencer bombers or Su-27 fighters.

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 .

Theoretically, Ukraine could also cobble together means to ground-launch Storm Shadows, accepting a significantly reduced range.

Like most long-range cruise missiles, Storm Shadows are not cheap—probably costing around $1 million per shot. And most operators have inventories in the low-to-mid hundreds, not thousands, limiting how many they’re inclined to donate. Still, if the UK’s donations breaks the taboo on transferring long-range missiles to Ukraine, then multiple donors may help make up numbers—to an extent.

Long-range Strike Tactics

When, in the summer of 2022, Ukraine began using Western-supplied HIMAR systems to launch GMLR precision-guided rockets out to a range of 56 miles, it resulted in a succession of spectacularly destructive attacks on Russian HQs, airbases, and ammo depots.

Those spectacles declined in frequency after a few months, as the Russians learned their lesson and pushed vulnerable support structures back outside of HIMARS range—accepting a loss of efficiency for better survival odds. Russia also began employing GPS-jamming to throw off the aim of HIMARS and SDB glide bombs given to Ukraine.

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.

And this time, those depots and command centers might have to relocate all the way to Russian soil to escape the Storm Shadow’s reach. That could especially threaten Russian forces in southern Ukraine, most distant from the Russian border.

But there are important differences to keep in mind. While Russian air defenses struggled to shoot down supersonic HIMARS rockets, Storm Shadow is a subsonic cruise missile—a class of weapon that Ukraine’s own air defense system has become efficient at shooting down.

Storm Shadow’s success—versus Russia’s technically superior air defenses—will depend in part on its stealth characteristics. Because the missile relies on image-matching instead of GPS for terminal guidance, it should at least be less degraded by Russian GPS jamming than HIMARS rockets.

Mena Adel, who writes on military aviation for Scramble magazine, told P opular Mechanics that tactics practiced by France and the UK using SCALP/Storm Shadow against Syria’s Soviet-built air defense systems offer a relevant model for Ukraine:

“The U.S., France and UK attacked with a sweeping attack by 4 different types of missiles, including [non-stealth] Tomahawk missiles which formed the largest part to disperse the Syrian air defense thereby reducing the chance of intercepting stealth missiles. All while monitored by Russian air defenses in Syria… It is certain that future attacks will be planned using different types of missile approach from different directions to deceive the Russian systems so that the desired targets are hit with great accuracy and a minimum interception rate. Stealthiness is not enough, success will depend on planning and deception.”

As Ukraine will not have nearly as many cruise missiles available, Adel suggested Ukraine might instead launch concerted attacks with drones and SDB glide bombs (both ground- and air-launched) supported by electronic warfare systems to confuse and overwhelm Russian air defenses.

Ukraine’s promise not to strike Russian soil with Western-supplied missiles could also inspire a false flag attack making it appear it has done so—a well-established tactic in Putin’s playbook . As Ukraine is sporadically attacking targets in Russia (mainly airbases, oil depots and electrical infrastructure) using agents and domestically-built drones and missiles, there could be grounds for confusion and misinformation.

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.

Sébastien Roblin has written on the technical, historical, and political aspects of international security and conflict for publications including 19FortyFive, The National Interest, MSNBC, Forbes.com, Inside Unmanned Systems and War is Boring. He holds a Master’s degree from Georgetown University and served with the Peace Corps in China. You can follow his articles on Twitter . 

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What is a Storm Shadow missile? Who makes the cruise missiles and why the UK is sending them to Ukraine

Manufacturer mbda says the storm shadow missile has a range in excess of 150 miles - three times further than us-supplied himars missiles currently being used by ukraine.

The UK has confirmed it is supplying Ukraine with long-range Storm Shadow cruise missiles , to aid in its continuing fight against Russia’s invasion .

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”.

He insisted it is the actions of Russia alone that “have led to such systems being provided to Ukraine” and stressed “this is a calibrated and proportionate response to Russia’s escalations”.

What are Storm Shadow missiles?

Manufacturer MBDA says the Storm Shadow missile has a range in excess 150 miles – three times further than US-supplied Himars missiles that are currently being used by Ukraine, which have a 50-mile range.

The missiles are fired from aircraft. Mr Wallace said they would be compatible with Ukraine’s existing Soviet-era planes.

After they are launched the missiles descend to a lower altitude to avoid radar detection, and hone in on their target using an infrared seeker.

The missiles were initially developed by French company by Matra and British Aerospace in 1994, and are now made by MBDA, a missile manufacturer based in Paris.

Despite the missiles being an upgrade on their current projectiles, the Defence Secretary warned they are still “not in the same league” as Russia’s own missile systems.

Why is the UK sending these missiles to Ukraine?

The Defence Secretary confirmed that he and the Prime Minister had agreed to authorise the donation after continued Russian attacks on Ukraine.

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.

He told the House of Commons on Thursday: “Today I can confirm that the UK is donating Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine.

Russia and Poland trade threats of wider war that could turn nuclear

“Storm Shadow is a long-range, conventional-only, precision-strike capability. It complements the long-range systems already gifted, including Himars and Harpoon missiles , as well as Ukraine’s own Neptune cruise missile.”

He added: “The donation of these weapons systems gives Ukraine the best chance to defend themselves against Russia’s continued brutality, especially the deliberate targeting of Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, which is against international law. Ukraine has a right to be able to defend itself against this.”

The UK’s provision of long-range missiles fulfils a pledge made by the Prime Minister in February. “Together we must help Ukraine to shield its cities from Russian bombs and Iranian drones,” he said at the time. “That’s why the United Kingdom will be the first country to give Ukraine longer-range weapons.”

Labour welcomed the announcement, with shadow Defence Secretary John Healey saying Storm Shadow “will strengthen Ukraine’s fight to repel the Russian forces”.

He added: “We are united in our determination to help in the defence of Ukraine and of our shared values. We welcome this vital new military support as the Ukrainians prepare for their expected counter-offensive.”

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. However, this reportedly includes the missiles being used to destroy  President Vladimir Putin’s  supply lines, and as part of the counter-offensive to take back Russian occupied territory, including Crimea.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow would take an “appropriate” military response to any Storm Shadow missiles used by Ukraine.

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More Storm Shadows Heading For Ukraine In Latest UK Aid Pledge

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Britain says it is donating long-range ‘Storm Shadow’ missiles to Ukraine.

The missiles, which are launched from the air, are the latest in a pipeline of military aid delivered to the country by Britain, the United States and other NATO allies.

• Share full article

By Matthew Mpoke Bigg and Stephen Castle

• May 11, 2023

Britain is donating long-range Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine to help it reclaim territory lost to Russia since the start of its invasion, Britain’s defense secretary, Ben Wallace, told Parliament on Thursday.

The missiles, which are launched from the air, are the latest in a pipeline of military aid to the country by Britain, the United States and other NATO allies and come after Ukraine’s request for weapons capable of targeting Russian military infrastructure and troop concentrations far behind the front lines in the war. As the country prepares to launch a counteroffensive, those demands have become more urgent.

Ukraine’s assault could come in the south and east of the country, where Russia holds territory. Kyiv has struck military targets in the occupied southern cities such as Melitopol and Berdiansk with increasing frequency in recent weeks, in a possible preparation for the counteroffensive.

The new missiles may be able to reach those cities, and they might also enable Ukraine to strike military targets in Crimea, a region even further behind Russian lines, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.

“Ukraine has a right to be able to defend itself,” Mr. Wallace said. “The use of Storm Shadow will allow Ukraine to push back Russian forces based within Ukrainian sovereign territory.” Mr. Wallace said he would not describe the weapon’s capabilities in detail but he said they were “not even in the same league” as some Russian weapons. The Russian Kalibr cruise missile, he said, had “a range of over 2,000 km, roughly seven times” that of the Storm Shadow missile.

The Kremlin’s spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, said on Thursday that Russia looks “negatively” at the new weapon’s delivery. He said it would “require an adequate response from our servicemen,” but gave no details.

Britain has been at the forefront of donations of military aid to Ukraine and, along with Poland and the Baltic States, has pushed other European countries to supply more aid to the country. Anti-tank missiles supplied by Britain helped Ukraine repel a Russian attempt to seize the capital, Kyiv, last spring, and in January, Britain pledged to send Challenger tanks to Ukraine.

In the past, announcements of weapons deliveries by Britain have been followed by decisions by the United States and other countries to supply similar classes of military aid, but it was not clear whether the pattern would hold with respect to the longer range missiles.

It was also not immediately clear that the United States supported Britain’s move. The Biden administration has held off supplying Ukraine with longer range weapons over concerns that Ukraine could use them to strike targets deep inside Russia, and that President Vladimir V. Putin might respond by escalating the war.

Britain has “received reassurances from Ukraine that these missiles like all other military support we have provided will only be used to defend their sovereign territory in keeping with international law,” said a spokemsan for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of Britain. It was not clear whether the missiles were already in Ukraine, but the spokesman said that they “have been donated.”

Ukrainian officials say that putting pressure on Russian bases in Crimea is a significant part of their strategy, given the region’s role in supporting military operations elsewhere in Ukraine. U.S. officials have said Ukraine already has the firepower it needs to strike in Crimea. Military analysts say that the reach of the Storm Shadow missiles would, at the least, force Russia to monitor areas that it once thought were out of range of Ukrainian missiles.

It remains unclear whether the Storm Shadow missile will enable Ukraine to strike targets in southern Crimea, including the port city of Sevastopol, which is home to Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. Southern Crimea is about 150 miles south of the frontline in the conflict.

Ben Hodges, a retired lieutenant general who was the commanding general of the U.S. Army in Europe and supports giving Ukraine long-range weapons, said on Twitter that the Black Sea Fleet would now be under threat . “This will give Ukraine capability to make Crimea untenable for Russian forces,” he said.

Marc Santora and Anatoly Kurmanaev contributed reporting.

Matthew Mpoke Bigg is a correspondent covering international news. He previously worked as a reporter, editor and bureau chief for Reuters and did postings in Nairobi, Abidjan, Atlanta, Jakarta and Accra. More about Matthew Mpoke Bigg

Stephen Castle is London correspondent, writing widely about Britain, including the country’s politics and relationship with Europe. More about Stephen Castle

Our Coverage of the War in Ukraine

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The United States secretly shipped a new long-range missile system  to Ukraine, and Ukrainian forces immediately used the weapons to attack a Russian military airfield in Crimea and Russian troops in the country’s southeast.

For residents of Ukraine’s second-largest city, daily Russian attacks have escalated fears  but have not brought life to a standstill. Here’s how a battered city  carries on.

Images From Year Three of the War: For all that time, photographers with The New York Times and other news organizations have chronicled the war , capturing a slice of how soldiers and civilians have experienced it. Some images will never leave them.

Nato’s Show of Force: About 90,000 NATO troops have been training in Europe for the Great Power war that most hope will never come : a clash between Russia and the West with potentially catastrophic consequences.

Resuming U.S. Military Aid: Weapons from the support package, considered “a lifeline” for Ukraine’s military , could be arriving on the battlefield within days . But experts say it could take weeks before there is a direct impact on the war . What would $60 billion buy ?

How We Verify Our Reporting

Our team of visual journalists analyzes satellite images, photographs , videos and radio transmissions  to independently confirm troop movements and other details.

We monitor and authenticate reports on social media, corroborating these with eyewitness accounts and interviews. Read more about our reporting efforts .

• Missiles of the World

SCALP EG / Storm Shadow / SCALP Naval / Black Shaheen / APACHE AP

The SCALP EG and its variants are a series of French-made air-launched cruise missiles. Variants of the missile have been customized and sold to the United Kingdom, Italy, Greece, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. France has also developed and deployed a sea-launched version for use on its naval ship and submarines.

SCALP EG / Storm Shadow at a Glance

APACHE AP Development

Missile variants, apache ap specifications, scalp eg/ storm shadow specifications.

The SCALP EG/Storm Shadow is guided by a triple navigation system, using inertial navigation, GPS, and Terrain Reference Navigation. 16 These advanced navigation systems, combined with an imaging infrared seeker and automatic target recognition algorithms, allow the missile to effectively hit the targeted impact point in severe conditions.

SCALP Naval Specifications

Black shaheen specifications, service history.

In 1997, the UAE order 600 Black Shaheen missiles, which were believed to be delivered in 2003 and operational by 2007.

• James O’Halloran, IHS Jane’s Weapons: Strategic 2015-2016 , 2015, (United Kingdom: IHS), 140.
• GlobalSecurity.org, “Apache”, 2016, http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/europe/apache.htm.”
• James O’Halloran, IHS Jane’s Weapons: Strategic 2015-2016, 2015, (United Kingdom: IHS), 140.
• Air-force Technology, “Storm Shadow/ SCALP Long-Range, Air-Launched, Stand-Off Attack Missile, France”, 2016, http://www.airforce-technology.com/projects/storm-shadow-missile/.
• Nuclear Threat Initiative, “United Arab Emirates Overview”, April 2015, http://www.nti.org/learn/countries/united-arab-emirates/.
• MBDA Missile Systems, “Successful First Firing of MBDA’s SCALP Naval Missile”, June 15 2010, http://www.mbda-systems.com/press-releases/successful-first-firing-of-mbdas-scalp-naval-missile/.
• MBDA Missile Systems, “Storm Shadow/SCALP”, 2016, http://www.mbda-systems.com/air-dominance/storm-shadow-scalp/.
• Global Security, “Apache”, 2016, http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/europe/apache.htm.
• MBDA Missile Systems, “Storm Shadow/SCALP”, 2016, http://www.mbda-systems.com/air-dominance/storm-shadow-scalp/
• James O’Halloran, IHS Jane’s Weapons: Strategic 2015-2016, 2015, (United Kingdom: IHS), 141.
• James O’Halloran, IHS Jane’s Weapons: Strategic 2015-2016, 2015, (United Kingdom: IHS), 142.
• IHS Jane’s 360, “Falcon flourishes in the desert” 23 February 2015, http://www.janes.com/article/49208/falcon-flourishes-in-the-desert-idx15d1.
• Airforce-Technology.com, “Storm Shadow/SCALP Long-Range, Air-Launched, Stand-Off Attack Missile, France”, 2016, http://www.airforce-technology.com/projects/storm-shadow-missile/.
• UK Defense Journal, “The Storm Shadow Cruise Missile”, October 20 2015, https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/the-storm-shadow-cruise-missile/.

Storm Shadows Head to Ukraine as Ally Commits 1,600 Missiles in New Aid

T he U.K. will supply Ukraine with additional long-range Storm Shadow missiles as Western countries pledge fresh military aid to Kyiv ahead of an anticipated Russian summer offensive.

The British government said on Tuesday it would commit its largest-ever tranche of military aid to Ukraine, worth £500 million ($622 million). The package includes more than 1,600 strike and air defense missiles, as well as further deliveries of Storm Shadow air-launched precision-guided missiles, vessels and vehicles, the British defense ministry said.

The new aid, announced shortly after the U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of a significant military assistance package for Ukraine, comes just weeks ahead of an expected Russian push on resource-scarce Ukrainian positions.

"Storm Shadow and other missiles, hundreds of armored vehicles and watercraft, ammunition—all of this is needed on the battlefield," Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky said in a post to X on Tuesday.

The U.K. said in May 2023 that it would send the Anglo-French Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine. Paris then committed to sending its version of the missiles, known as SCALP, to Kyiv.

Made by European missile manufacturer MBDA, the missiles have an official range in excess of 155 miles, although experts have suggested they may be able to strike at further distances. The long-range missiles give Ukraine the ability to strike key Russian assets, like military headquarters, bunkers and logistics, far behind the front line.

"Deep strike attacks, like those using Storm Shadow, won't win the war, but this donation will be intended as another signal to others, with the UK being prepared to take yet more risk on its conventional capabilities in support of Ukraine," said Matthew Savill, director of military sciences at the U.K.-based think tank the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).

Storm Shadow missiles have been credited with a number of Ukrainian strikes that have proved embarrassing to Moscow. Kyiv used Storm Shadow missiles to strike a Russian warship and the Rostov-on-Don submarine, based at the Crimean city of Sevastopol, in September 2023.

Ukraine also used Storm Shadow missiles to strike a Russian military command hub in the Russian-controlled eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk in mid-April 2024, Sky News reported.

The British aid package includes 60 boats of various types, more than 400 vehicles and close to 4 million rounds of small arms ammunition.

"Today's package will help ensure Ukraine has what they need to take the fight to Russia," British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said.

On Saturday, the U.S. House of Representatives greenlit a new military aid package worth more than $60 billion. The U.S. is Ukraine's single-largest provider of military support.

The fresh aid had spent months stuck in Congress , bogged down by political infighting. The package is heading for the Senate and for U.S. President Joe Biden 's sign-off in the coming days.

On Monday, Zelensky said securing long-range weaponry was a key priority for Kyiv, alongside air defense systems, modern artillery and "ensuring that the American support packages arrive as quickly as possible."

"Everything has been decided in the ATACMS negotiations for Ukraine," Zelensky said on Monday, referring to the U.S.'s long-range surface-to-surface Army Tactical Missile System. Kyiv first used ATACMS in October 2023.

Along with Storm Shadow, ATACMS "will enable the Ukrainians to complement any operations on the front line, with pressure on Russian airbases and supply dumps further back," RUSI's Savill said.

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May 11, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

By Kathleen Magramo , Christian Edwards, Aditi Sangal , Adrienne Vogt , Elise Hammond , Matt Meyer and Tori B. Powell , CNN

CNN Exclusive: Britain has delivered long-range "Storm Shadow" cruise missiles to Ukraine ahead of expected counteroffensive, sources say

From CNN's Jim Sciutto

The United Kingdom has supplied Ukraine with multiple Storm Shadow cruise missiles, giving Ukrainian forces a new long-range strike capability in advance of a highly anticipated counteroffensive against Russian forces, multiple senior Western officials told CNN. 

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 . 

Critically, the Storm Shadow has the range to strike deep into Russian-held territory in Eastern Ukraine. A Western official told CNN that the UK has received assurances from the Ukrainian government that these missiles will be used only within Ukrainian sovereign territory and not inside Russia. UK officials have made frequent public statements identifying Crimea as Ukrainian sovereign territory , describing it as "illegally annexed." 

The missile is "a real game changer from a range perspective," a senior US military official told CNN and gives Kyiv a capability it has been requesting since the outset of the war.  As CNN has reported, Ukraine's current maximum range on US-provided weapons is around 49 miles.

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.

Read the full report here.

Ukraine says Russian looting has increased in occupied regions

From CNN's Olga Voitovych

The number of lootings and robberies allegedly committed by Russian troops has increased during Russia’s evacuation of occupied territories , according to Ukraine’s deputy defense minister.

In a statement released Thursday morning, Hanna Maliar said Russian troops have been using “the alleged need to ensure the evacuation of the population” in the southern Zaporizhzhia region as a “pretext” to seize vehicles and other private belongings.

CNN could not independently verify the claims.

“In particular, in the settlements of Tokmak, Polohy, Kamianka, Rozivka, Mykhailivka, Molochansk, Enerhodar, Chernihivka in the temporarily occupied territory of Zaporizhzhia region, Russian occupiers, under the guise of so-called evacuation measures, stole property of local enterprises and citizens,” Maliar said.

“In Enerhodar, at night, about 20 vehicles were stolen from the territory of the private enterprise Elektropivdenmontazh-10 and a warehouse was looted.”

Maliar added that Russian troops “will use another cargo ship that arrived at the port of Berdiansk on May 7 to move the stolen property to the territory of the temporarily occupied Crimea.”

Some background: Russian authorities began evacuating towns and cities in the occupied region of Zaporizhzhia last week, amid rumors that Ukraine is set to launch a long-anticipated counteroffensive to reclaim territory seized by Moscow’s invasion. More than 1,600 people, including 660 children, have been evacuated from towns on the frontlines, according to the Russia-appointed acting head of the region.

Zaporizhzhia is home to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, which has witnessed intense fighting since the start of the war and sparked concern among the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog. Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency warned Monday of the “increasingly unpredictable” situation at the Zaporizhzhia plant.

Ukraine’s military said Wednesday that Russian soldiers prevented Ukrainian employees of the occupied plant from evacuating Enerhodar – a nearby frontline town – with their families.

Ukraine claims success in the east as south braces for counteroffensive. Here's the latest

From CNN staff

The Ukrainian military says its troops are conducting "effective counterattacks" in the Bakhmut area after they inflicted "huge losses" on Russian forces Wednesday.

Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin conceded that Ukrainian forces have been able to advance south of the eastern city and he accused one Russian unit of fleeing from the fight, leading to many casualties among his mercenaries.

The 72nd brigade "just ran the hell out of there," Prigozhin said.

If you're just joining us, here are the latest developments:

• Eastern battles: The Ukrainian military said Russian offensives were repelled around Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Mariinka in eastern Ukraine. Russian forces claimed they had taken the village of Kamianka, north of Avdiivka, where Ukrainian troops have been surrounded on three sides for several months.
• In the south: Russia's defense ministry and a Russia-backed official claimed Wednesday that Russian forces hit a Ukrainian ammunition in the Zaporizhzhia region, which has seen a rise in shelling by both sides in anticipation of a Ukrainian counteroffensive. Meanwhile, Ukraine's military said Russian forces were conducting "defensive operations in the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson directions," and had carried out a number of airstrikes.
• Nuclear staff blocked: Ukraine's military said Russian soldiers are preventing employees of the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant from  evacuating a nearby frontline town  with their families. Russia-backed authorities have ordered the  evacuation of thousands of civilians  along the southern front as the Ukrainian counteroffensive looms.
• Alleged cross-border attacks: The governors of Russia's Belgorod and Bryansk regions said they were attacked by drone strikes Wednesday. No casualties were reported. Russian officials in regions bordering Ukraine have reported an uptick in cross-border drone strikes in recent weeks as Ukrainian forces appear to target Russian fuel depots and supply lines.
• War crime probe: France has  opened a war crimes investigation  following the death of  AFP journalist Arman Soldin  in Ukraine, a statement from the country's antiterrorism prosecution office said Wednesday. Soldin, 32, was killed Tuesday in a rocket attack near Bakhmut.
• Global repercussions:  NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Russia’s war  in Ukraine is informing  China's calculations  on a possible invasion of Taiwan. His remarks came after Japan's foreign minister told CNN that Tokyo is in talks to open a NATO liaison office, the first of its kind in Asia, citing instability brought by the war.
• Beijing's view: Meanwhile, China's foreign minister warned against  an "emotional" view of the war in Ukraine, saying on a visit to Germany that "the only way out is to remain calm and rational and create conditions for a political solution." Beijing has claimed neutrality over the war and called for peace, but it has also refused to condemn Russia’s invasion and has accused NATO and the United States of fueling the conflict.

Trump won't say whether he wants Russia or Ukraine to win the war

From CNN's Jack Forrest

Former US President  Donald Trump , who is running to retake the White House in 2024, would not say Wednesday night who he thinks should prevail in  Russia’s war against Ukraine , instead telling New Hampshire GOP primary voters that he wants “everybody to stop dying.”

“I want everybody to stop dying. They’re dying. Russians and Ukrainians. I want them to stop dying,” Trump said at  CNN’s town hall  moderated by “CNN This Morning” anchor Kaitlan Collins. “And I’ll have that done in 24 hours.”

Trump, who would not say whether he wants Ukraine to successfully deter Russia when pressed by Collins, told the audience gathered at Saint Anselm College that he doesn’t “think in terms of winning and losing.”

Read the full story here.

Drone strikes hit Russia's Belgorod and Bryansk regions, governors say

From CNN's Josh Pennington

Additional drone attacks were conducted over Russia’s Belgorod region on the border with Ukraine, Belgorod Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said in a Telegram post Wednesday.

Two drones detonated and fell over a residential area in the region, Gladkov said. No casualties were reported, but two residential buildings and a car were damaged, he added.

Another drone was shot down by Russian air defense systems over the region, Gladkov said. The governor said there were no casualties and that response teams are assessing the aftermath on the ground.

A drone strike hit Bryansk, another Russian region on the Ukraine border, said Bryansk Gov. Alexander Bogomaz.

Bogomaz said there were no casualties, and that an administrative building was struck in Stardoub. Response teams are working on site, he added.

Operation in Ukraine has been "very difficult," Kremlin says

From CNN's Josh Pennington and Hira Humayun

The “special military operation” in Ukraine has been what Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov described as “very difficult,” but said certain goals have been achieved over the past year.

Speaking to Bosnian Serb channel ATV in remarks carried by Russian state news agency TASS on Wednesday, Peskov said Russia is acting “slowly” In Ukraine because it is conducting a “special military operation, not a war.”

He acknowledged Ukraine’s stronghold in the eastern city of Bakhmut and said “a large amount of AFU troops are concentrated there, which is constantly receiving reinforcements.”

Peskov said the West has made “many mistakes” and “deceived Russia,” which prompted Russia to launch the operation in Ukraine — something he said the West became a participant in.

He maintained that  the recent drone attacks  on the Kremlin were an “attempted terrorist attack” against Russian President Vladimir Putin. By doing so, Peskov insisted, Ukraine has “equated itself with the state sponsors of terrorism.”

He said Russia will implement all necessary security measures following  the incident . Ukrainian officials and the United States have  repeatedly denied  being behind a  drone attack on the Kremlin .

Referring to the  International Criminal Court warrant issued  against Putin earlier this year, Peskov said, “It's difficult to imagine that anyone in the world would seriously consider issuing an ICC warrant against Putin, the leader of a nuclear power.”

Peskov told the channel that his country is “too strong a state” to give up its positions under pressure from the West, and said the Kremlin would not communicate with Western media “until they begin to show some interest in the truth.”

Russia conducted unsuccessful offensives in multiple areas, Ukraine military says

From CNN's Tim Lister and Yulia Kesaieva

The Russian offensive is concentrated in four different parts of the Donetsk region, with the "fiercest battles" in the cities of Bakhmut and Mariinka, according to the Ukrainian military's General Staff.

Russia conducted unsuccessful offensive actions in Bakhmut and the Avdiivka and Mariinka areas, it said. Russian forces claimed earlier Wednesday that they had taken the village of Kamianka, north of Avdiivka, where Ukrainian forces have been surrounded on three sides for several months.

Further south — where observers expect a  Ukrainian counteroffensive  to be focused — Russian forces are conducting “defensive operations in the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson directions,” and had carried out a number of airstrikes, the General Staff said.

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 General Staff also claimed that Russians were evacuating civilians in the town of Tokmak in the Zaporizhzhia region to "terrible living conditions" further south.

“Russian occupiers, under the pretext of evacuating civilians, continue to take away looted property from the frontline settlements of the Zaporizhzhia region,” it said, adding that medical institutions in the city of Enerhodar had been looted.

The Ukrainian air force had carried out several strikes, it said, including against a Russian electronic warfare unit. The Ukrainians appear to be trying to disrupt both Russian military communications and electronic warfare capabilities ahead of a counteroffensive.

Wagner boss fumes that Russian brigade "fled" from Bakhmut area

From CNN's Tim Lister, Uliana Pavlova and Christian Edwards

The boss of Russian mercenary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, accused a Russian brigade of abandoning its position in frontline Bakhmut, allowing Ukraine to seize territory.

The remarks are the latest in a series of public criticisms from him of Moscow’s Ministry of Defense for the faltering invasion of Ukraine — and, in particular, the  failure to capture the city of Bakhmut . But while Prigozhin has frequently poured scorn on the Russian military and its leadership, he has not previously accused Russian units of running from battle and allowing Ukrainian forces to recapture territory.

Prigozhin said the 72nd brigade “just ran the hell out of there.”

“At the moment, within the city of Bakhmut, there is only Wagner PMC, there are no other units. Outside Bakhmut [there is] only the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. PMC Wagner is not there,” he said.

Bakhmut is the site of a months-long assault by Russian forces, including Wagner mercenaries, that has driven thousands from their homes and left the area devastated. But despite the vast amounts of manpower Russia has poured into capturing the city — using tactics that have been compared to a “meat grinder” — they have been unable to take total control, and on Wednesday suffered heavy losses in the area.

Read more here.

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Special operations outlook 2019 digital edition is here, storm shadow at war.

By Mike Markowitz and John D. Gresham - May 17, 2012

Storm Shadow mounted beneath the fuselage of an RAF Tornado GR4. ©G.H. Lee

Storm Shadow is one of a family of air-launched cruise missiles made by MBDA Missile Systems , a European joint venture formed by EADS (France), BAE Systems (U.K. and United States) and Finmeccanica (Italy). Storm Shadow is the British name; in French it is called SCALP EG (Emploi Général, or “General Purpose”). It is based on MBDA’s canceled Apache anti-runway missile, which entered service in 2001 with the French Air Force, However, Storm Shadow carries a unitary warhead rather than dispensing cluster submunitions like Apache.

Storm Shadow can be launched by the RAF Tornado GR4, Saab Gripen, Italian Tornado IDS, Dassault Mirage 2000 and Dassault Rafale. Storm Shadow will be integrated with the Eurofighter Typhoon beginning in 2014, and it will eventually be fitted to the F-35 Lightning II .  The weapon has been sold to Saudi Arabia, and a modified version, Black Shaheen, was purchased by the United Arab Emirates.

Royal Air Force 617 Squadron personnel celebrate the 60th anniversary of the squadron’s formation, posing with a Tornado GR4 armed with two Storm Shadows hung beneath the fuselage. The squadron’s Tornado aircraft fired Storm Shadow missiles against Iraqi airfields during the early stages of Operation Iraqi Freedom. RAF photo by Cpl. Mark Bailey

Storm Shadow is a “fire and forget” missile, and it must be programmed before launch. This requires a mission planning system to provide extremely precise geo-location data and intelligence imagery of the target. As the missile approaches the target after its GPS-guided cruise to the target, it performs a pop-up maneuver to provide the best possible penetration angle. A nose cover is jettisoned, allowing a high-resolution infrared camera to acquire the target. The targeting system then matches the camera image to a stored template of the target. If no valid target is acquired, the missile is programmed to fly to a safe crash point. Typical Storm Shadow targets include command bunkers, radar sites, missile installations and ships in port.

Storm Shadow is carefully shaped to reduce its radar cross section, particularly around the engine inlet duct. The onboard radar altimeter is designed to use “low probability of intercept” waveforms and transmission modes to further reduce the risk of detection.

Storm Shadow won a U.K. contract in June 1996, in competition with designs from six other aerospace teams. The RAF ordered 900 missiles, with an additional 500 ordered by France, and 200 for Italy. The missile entered service with the Royal Air Force in late 2001, and was fired by 617 Squadron against Saddam Hussein’s airbases during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

More recently, Storm Shadow played a leading role during the 2011 air campaign against Libya, Operation Odyssey Dawn , where it achieved the following milestones:

• March 21, 2011 – RAF Tornado GR4 crews flew an eight-hour, 3,000-mile mission to strike Gaddafi’s radar stations, anti-aircraft batteries and supply lines. Dismissing claims by Gaddafi’s regime that the air strikes had killed innocent civilians, the U.K. defense secretary said, “We are using some very specific types of weaponry to minimize any civilian casualties or other collateral damage.’ Despite the fact that it can be fired from up to 150 miles away, Storm Shadow is accurate to within 6 feet.
• Aug. 10, 2011 – RAF Tornado GR4 aircraft launched from RAF Marham, Norfolk, to conduct eight-hour round-trip missions over Libya. Armed with Storm Shadow cruise missiles, the six GR4 aircraft flew from their UK base to target Gaddafi’s command and control facilities and air defense infrastructure. The aircraft carried two Storm Shadows each, for a total of 12 missiles used in the attack.
•  Sept. 12, 2011 – RAF aircraft targeted a military vehicle depot at a regime compound near Sebha. Tornados from RAF Marham in Norfolk fired a large salvo of Storm Shadows, causing severe damage.
• The French Armée de L’air used an undisclosed number of SCALP-EG missiles over Libya in 2011. Specifically, SCALP/EGs were fired by Rafales against Al Jufra Air Base.
• Italian Tornado IDS aircraft also fired between 20 and 30 Storm Shadows during this campaign. This was the first time Italy fired the missile operationally, and it had a 97 percent success rate.

Many enhancements have been proposed for this weapon system, although Europe’s financial troubles make it uncertain whether any of these will ever enter service. Storm Shadow strike planners would like to have a data link from the missile to the launch aircraft, or even back to the Air Operations Center. With a two-way data link, it would become possible to re-target missiles in flight, a concern when there is a risk of civilians wandering into the field of view, or when the planned target may have already been neutralized by other weapons.

Storm Shadow/SCALP EG carried by a Rafale. MBDA photo by Alexandre Paringaux

As potential adversaries develop more hardened and deeply buried targets; warheads with greater penetration power have become an increasingly urgent requirement. The Storm Shadow’s current tandem-charge warhead can penetrate between 7 and 15 feet of concrete, depending on impact angle and speed. Designs currently under development by MBDA may double this, with little increase in weight.

Specifications

• Weight: 1,300 kilograms (2,866 lb.)
• Length: 5.1 meters (16.7 ft.)
• Diameter: 48 centimeters (1.6 ft.)
• Warhead: 300 kilograms
• Engine: Microturbo TRI 60-30 turbojet, 5.4 KN thrust
• Wingspan: 3 meters (9.8 ft.)
• Range: 250+ kilometers (155 mi)
• Cruise altitude: 30 – 40 meters (98.4 – 131.2 ft.)
• Speed: 1,000 kilometers/hour (Mach .8)
• Guidance: Inertial, GPS and TERPROM (Terrain Profile Matching). Terminal guidance using imaging infrared.
• Unit price: about 900,000 Euro = UK£790,000 = US$1.3 Million

By Mike Markowitz

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A look at the Storm Shadow cruise missile Great Britain has announced it will provide Ukraine.

May 12, 2023

After a year of struggling with the range of its artillery and missiles in its bid to fend off Russia’s invasion , Ukraine’s military is getting a longer reach with the British announcement that it will supply Storm Shadow cruise missiles to the embattled country. The missile has a rated range of more than 250 kilometers (156 miles). The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Missile Defense Project reports its actual range to be 400 km. (250 miles).

Manufactured by Matra BAe Dynamics (MBDA) Missile Systems, the Storm Shadow is the British variant of a family of cruise missiles also used by France, Italy, Greece, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates, where its alternate names include APACHE AP, SCALP EG, SCALP Naval, and Black Shaheen. MBDA is a defense joint venture of the Airbus Group (37.5 percent), BAE Systems (37.5 percent), and Leonardo (25 percent). While Storm Shadow is an air-launched cruise missile, those variants for other countries include ship- and submarine-launched versions.

APACHE stands for Arme Propulsée À CHarges Éjectables, a 1983 French project to develop an anti-runway cruise missile equipped with submunitions. Initially, Germany was a partner, but withdrew in 1988, according to CSIS. The Systeme de Croisiere conventionale Autonome a Longue Portee (SCALP EG) was developed subsequently to carry penetrating warheads. A 1995 UK contract produced the Storm Shadow version for the British military. It differs from the SCALP EG only in its aircraft interface and software.

The aircraft that have delivered the Storm Shadow so far include the Eurofighter Typhoon, Rafale, Mirage 2000, and Tornado, so it will apparently add a new aircraft type after been adapted to planes in the Ukrainian inventory.

Like so many weapon systems, the Storm Shadow and its variants have seen operational use in Iraq, Libya, and Syria. Storm Shadow is 5.1 meters (16’ 8”) long, weighs 1,300 kilograms (2,860 lbs.), and carries a 400 kg. (880 lb.) high explosive Bomb Royal Ordnance Augmented Charge (BROACH) warhead from BAE Systems . According to ArmedForces.co.uk, the BROACH warhead features an initial penetrating charge to clear soil or enter a bunker, then a variable delay fuse to control detonation of the main warhead.

It is powered at sub-sonic Mach 0.8 speed by a Safran Aircraft Engines TR60-30 turbojet engine and is guided by INS, GPS, and terrain reference navigation. In flight, the missile skims the terrain at 150 meters to avoid detection, dipping to just 50 meters of altitude approaching the target. ArmedForces.co.uk describes its action in the final phase of attack: “Close to the target, the missile bunts, climbing to an altitude intended to achieve the best probability of target identification and penetration. During the bunt, the nose cone is jettisoned to allow a high-resolution infrared camera to observe the target area (the bunt enlarges the field of vision).”

Its automatic target recognition system matches the target image with a stored picture to ensure a precision strike. Its warhead detonation options include air burst, impact, and penetrative modes. If the target recognition system cannot confirm the target and there is a concern for collateral damage, the missile flies to a crash point rather than striking an unintended target.

MBDA touts this missile’s ability to operate day and night and in all weather, reaching targets such as hardened bunkers and key infrastructure. The Financial Times reported Ukraine’s defense minister describing what those targets might be. “Our partners know very well why we need them: to be able to reduce the enemy’s offensive potential by destroying their ammunition depots, command and control centers, and logistics chains on the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territory.”

In 2017, MBDA stated that nearly 3,000 Storm Shadow/SCALP air-launched missiles had been delivered to customers and that nearly 200 had been deployed. The company launched a refurbishment program that same year that delivered upgraded missiles to customers starting in 2020. The aim of the upgrade was to “prolong the operational superiority of the weapon against the anticipated evolving threat well into next decade.”

About the Author(s)

Senior Editor, Design News

Dan’s coverage of the auto industry over three decades has taken him to the racetracks, automotive engineering centers, vehicle simulators, wind tunnels, and crash-test labs of the world.

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UK sending long-range Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine, says defence minister

Britain donating arms capable of striking targets in occupied Crimea as Kyiv prepares counteroffensive against Russia

• Russia-Ukraine war – latest news updates

Britain has become the first western country to provide Ukraine with the long-range Storm Shadow cruise missiles that Kyiv wants to boost its chances in a much-anticipated counteroffensive, prompting a threat from the Kremlin of a military response.

Hours after Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy , said he needed more western weapons to be confident of a victory this summer, Ben Wallace, the UK defence secretary, told MPs that the missiles – which cost more than £2m each – were “now going in, or are in the country itself”.

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.

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.

At least 23,000 civilians had been killed or injured, Wallace said. Russia had made “788 attacks on healthcare facilities, hospitals, clinics, medical centres”, and on many occasions killed civilians in missile strikes, he added.

“The use of Storm Shadow will allow Ukraine to push back Russian forces based within Ukrainian sovereign territory,” Wallace told MPs, adding: “Russia must recognise that their actions alone have led to such systems being provided.”

Speaking at a press briefing in Moscow, the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia was taking a “rather negative” view of the UK’s move. “This will require an adequate response from our military, who … will make appropriate decisions,” he said.

Wallace did not say how many Storm Shadow missiles had been given to Ukraine, although it has been estimated the UK holds a stock of between 700 and 1,000. Working with four other countries, the UK issued a tender to buy more long-range “missiles or rockets with a range of 100-300km” (62 to 186 miles).

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. Himars have become less effective as the Russian invaders have moved reserves of troops and equipment out of their range.

There have been concerns that the Storm Shadow missiles could be used to strike targets deep inside Russia’s internationally recognised borders. The White House has balked at supplying Ukraine with similar long-range ATACMS missiles, which can be fitted to the Himars systems.

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.

A US official said that “each country makes their own sovereign decisions” about what weapons to give to Ukraine, and stressed that the Biden administration appreciated the contributions made by “more than 50 countries, including the UK” in support of Kyiv in its effort to kick out the Russian invaders.

Ukrainian commanders on the ground have said Kyiv still lacks vital weapons needed for a large-scale campaign to succeed. These include long-range missiles. Without them, it is feared that deep-lying reserves could be used to snuff out any Ukrainian counteroffensive quickly if it looks likely to break through.

Earlier, Zelenskiy said in a television interview Ukraine needed more time before it could launch its much-anticipated counteroffensive, and was still waiting for key weapons to arrive.

The president said newly formed brigades were ready to attack, but were at risk of taking too many casualties if they did so now. “We can go forward and be successful. But we’d lose a lot of people. I think that’s unacceptable,” he said. “So we need to wait. We still need a bit more time.”

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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.

Justin Bronk, an aviation analyst at the Rusi thinktank, described Storm Shadow as “an expensive weapon designed for strategic targets such as command centres, logistics hubs or other high-value fixed sites”.

Experts say Storm Shadow could be used to strike targets such as the Dzhankoi rail and logistics hub in northern Crimea, as well as the naval base at Sevastopol and airfield at Saky. Rendering them unusable would make it harder for Russia to push back against any Ukrainian counterattack.

Ukrainian leaders have publicly said they would not use long range missiles inside Russia, although leaked Pentagon papers reported, based on electronic eavesdropping, that Zelenskiy privately complained to his top commander that Ukraine “does not have long-range missiles capable of reaching Russian troop deployments in Russia”.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

• Defence policy
• Ben Wallace
• Volodymyr Zelenskiy

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First Photo Showing Ukrainian Su-24 Armed With Storm Shadow Cruise Missiles Emerges

The Fencer was long rumored to be the Ukrainian aircraft of choice for using the British-supplied cruise missile.

Two weeks after the announcement of the delivery of Storm Shadow cruise missiles to Ukraine, we have now confirmation that the British-supplied weapons are carried in combat by the Su-24 Fencer. The photo, shown on Twitter by Ukraine’s Minister of Defence Oleksii Reznikov, was presented to UK’s Secretary of Defence Ben Wallace as he visited Kyiv.

Wallace visited Kyiv on May 24 to discuss priorities for increasing Ukraine’s defense capabilities, particularly providing long-range weapons, as well as the country’s NATO adhesion and future plans. The Secretary of Defence also signed the photo with the caption “To all the brave ‘few’ who risk all for the glory of Ukraine”.

I was glad to host my great friend Ben Wallace, @BWallaceMP , in Kyiv. We had a very meaningful discussion focused on priorities for increasing Ukraine’s defense capabilities, particularly providing long-range weapons such as Storm Shadow. We also discussed prospects for… pic.twitter.com/kVEo8dtFMc — Oleksii Reznikov (@oleksiireznikov) May 24, 2023

The aircraft in the photo appears to be the Su-24MR “Yellow 60” assigned to the 7th Tactical Aviation Brigade, which operates both the standard Su-24M “Fencer D” and the MR “Fencer E” recon variant. Although the MR variant is not equipped with air-to-ground weapons, it appears to have been modified to carry the missiles on the pylons usually loaded with the external fuel tanks.

#Ukraine : We obtained the first ever HQ image of the 🇬🇧Storm Shadow missile used by the Ukrainian Air Force, carried by Su-24MR “Yellow 60” of the 7th Tactical Aviation Brigade. This aircraft, refurbed in 2018, was originally a reconnaissance model-until recently of limited use. pic.twitter.com/4TXIVAHIgG — 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) May 24, 2023

The Su-24, which in the photo is carrying two Storm Shadow missiles (one clearly visible, the other can be recognized by its outline on the other wing), has always been considered the most likely candidate to employ the cruise missile. In fact, the MiG-29 and Su-27 were considered unlikely as their heaviest loading hardpoints are certified for up to 1,000 kg (although some sources say the Flanker might be able to carry it under the fuselage but with heavy limitations), while the Storm Shadow weights 1,300 kg.

As we reported, the missile has already been employed against Russian targets few days after the delivery was announced. The info, first emerged online after debris traceable to the Storm Shadow were found near air strikes’ targets in the Russian occupied areas, was later confirmed also by the UK’s Secretary of Defence last week.

In the meanwhile, the delivery of other long-range weapons is being discussed. Among those are the Storm Shadow’s French variant, the SCALP, and the German equivalent, the Taurus KEPD 350 .

• Storm Shadow
• Su-24 Fencer
• Sukhoi Su-24
• Ukrainian Air Force
• Ukrainian war

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Israel hit Iran with a half-ton supersonic 'Rampage' missile, report says

• Israeli media reported that Israel used a "Rampage" missile in its strike on Iran.
• The supersonic missile is designed to strike ground targets such as military bases.
• However, officials and independent analyses are giving a range of other possibilities.

Israel used a long-range, supersonic missile in its strike on Iran last week, Israeli broadcaster Kan reported, per The Times of Israel .

US officials said Israel carried out a missile strike on a military base near the city of Isfahan on Friday.

Israel has not confirmed the reports, while Iran has sought to downplay the incident, only referencing small drones used in the attack, which, in an interview with NBC News , its foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said were "like toys our children play with."

While it remains unclear what weapons were used in the strike, Israel's national broadcaster Kan reported that Israel used a "Rampage" air-to-surface missile, claiming it was identified in photos and that damage caused by the attack was consistent with a Rampage strike, per The Times of Israel.

The Rampage was designed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) for use against targets such as "communication and command centers, air forces bases, maintenance centers and infrastructure," according to the company's website.

The company describes the missile, which weighs 1,250 pounds, as "a long-range, air-to-ground, seekerless, precision strike weapon."

Other reports, however, have pointed to another type of missile being used in the attack.

Related stories

Analyses by the BBC and the Financial Times , based on images of wreckage that landed in Iraq, suggest that the attack involved Israel's Blue Sparrow missile.

The wreckage was likely the missile's booster system that detached mid-journey, Justin Crump, a veteran and risk intelligence CEO, told the BBC.

Israel's Sparrow missile is an air-launched ballistic missile with a range of up to 1,240 miles, per the FT. It is normally used to test Israel's air defenses, per The War Zone .

A person briefed on the situation, who was not named, said that the Pentagon also believes the Blue Sparrow may have been involved, the FT reported.

Two Western officials said that the Israeli strike on Iran, which was launched in response to Iran's attack on Israel last week, was intended to show Tehran that it easily could evade its air-defense systems, The New York Times reported.

A much larger attack was considered, but was scaled back after discussions with President Joe Biden and British and German foreign ministers, the newspaper reported.

This was done to encourage Iran not to respond in kind, but still send a message about Israel's abilities, officials told the outlet.

Business Insider contacted the IDF and the IAI for comment.

It was reported last year that the UK's Royal Air Force was considering buying Rampage missiles to replenish its missile stocks after having donated many of its own Storm Shadow cruise missiles to Ukraine.

The Rampage is considered an economical alternative, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars each, compared with the $3 million price tag of each Storm Shadow, according to The National .

The missile has the ability to fly at 1,250 mph with a range of up to 190 miles. It can be fired from an aircraft or as a stand-alone system and uses GPS/INS guidance navigation and anti-jamming capabilities, according to the company, and has a blast fragmentation or general-purpose warhead.

A video shared on the company's YouTube channel simulates a strike by the missile.

Watch: Israel bombards Lebanon and Gaza in retaliatory attack

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