Ukraine received Storm Shadow cruise missiles
Storm Shadow missile in flight configuration
Britain continues to supply the Kyiv regime with modern weapons, which is in service with her own army. The other day officially announced the delivery of a batch of air-launched cruise missiles Storm Shadow. As was the case with other weapons, high hopes are now placed on this product and it is expected that it will affect the course of hostilities. However, the possibility of effective use of foreign ammunition is once again in question.
Waiting for the missiles
Back in November last year, foreign media, citing their own sources, reported that the UK could transfer modern air-launched cruise missiles (ALCMs) of the Storm Shadow type to Ukraine. Rumors also circulated about the possible integration of such missiles into the weapons complex of the Su-24M bomber. Allegedly, such a project was developed and is ready to be implemented in Poland.
In mid-December, the British Minister of Defense Ben Wallace, in another interview for the local media, said that his department did not plan to send Storm Shadow products to Ukraine. At the same time, he did not rule out the transfer of such weapons in the future - if there is a need for them.
A few months later, on May 11, the American news agency CNN again raised the topic of the Storm Shadow ALCM. It learned from unnamed sources that the UK had recently donated several of these missiles to Ukraine. It is assumed that such assistance will improve the strike capabilities of Ukrainian formations and help them fight the Russian army. At the same time, the exact dates and sizes of the transferred batch were not reported.
Rocket in production
Soon there was official confirmation. On the same day, B. Wallace made another speech in the British Parliament about the need to support the Kyiv regime. Among other things, in it he confirmed the fact of sending Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine. Like CNN, the minister did not go into details and did not disclose the number of missiles transferred, plans for their deployment, etc.
So the UK has given Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine in recent days or weeks and has also admitted to doing so. Whether these weapons made it to Ukrainian territory and whether the deployment process has begun is unknown. At the same time, the use of British ALCMs has not yet been reported. Perhaps the first attempts at missile strikes of this kind will be made in the very near future.
"Storm Shadow"
History Storm Shadow products date back to the mid-nineties, when the UK and France launched a joint program to develop advanced long-range ALCMs. In the future, the finished rocket received two names at once - the British Storm Shadow and the French SCALP.
Several European and American enterprises participated in the competitive stage of the program. One of the participants in the work was the Anglo-British consortium of British Aerospace and Matra, on the basis of which the modern company MBDA was subsequently formed. His project was considered the most successful by the customers, and in February 1997 a contract appeared for full development and testing.
RAF Tornado strike aircraft with Storm Shadow missiles (under the bottom)
Tests of the finished Storm Shadow / SCALP missile began at the turn of the decade and took several years. By the middle of the XNUMXs, the product fully confirmed the design characteristics and was adopted by the tactical aviation UK and France. By this time, the newly organized MBDA had begun mass production of missiles.
As early as 1997, France placed a pre-order for 500 SCALP missiles. British needs for such weapons at that time were estimated at 800-1000 units, and some of them were soon covered by the first order. Apparently, the first orders of the developing countries were fully completed already in the XNUMXs. In the future, the troops could receive additional batches of weapons to replace used missiles.
Since the late nineties, Storm Shadow has been purchased by third countries. Greece, Egypt, India, Italy, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia received such weapons in varying quantities. Now Ukraine has entered the circle of owners of such ALCMs.
The combat use of Storm Shadow began even before the official adoption. Such missiles were used by the British Air Force during the intervention in Iraq in 2003. Subsequently, British and French aircraft used them in Libya, Syria and Iraq. It was officially reported about the successful defeat of various ground and underground structures.
Italian Typhoon with Anglo-French missiles
In the middle of the XNUMXs, a modification of the Storm Shadow rocket was created under the designation MdCN. It is intended for surface ships and submarines, which is why it has some technical differences, is equipped with a starting engine and is delivered in a sealed container.
Technical features
The manufacturing organization positions the Storm Shadow as a low-observable, long-range cruise missile compatible with a wide range of airborne platforms. Fairly high performance is declared, although there are certain limitations in the case of the export version.
The missile is built in a composite fuselage with a characteristic multifaceted shape, which reduces visibility for radar equipment. There is a high-swept wing, folded in the transport position. The tail has a set of stabilizers and rudders. The total length of the product is 5,1 m, the wingspan is 3 m. The launch weight is 1300 kg.
The rocket uses a small-sized turbojet engine Microturbo TRI 60-30. With its help, speeds up to 1000 km / h are achieved. With a flight altitude of no more than 30-50 m, the rocket in the original version has a range of up to 560 km. The range of the export option to comply with international agreements is limited to 250 km.
Storm Shadow is equipped with a combined guidance system, which is claimed to be highly resistant to interference. The system includes satellite and inertial navigation devices, as well as TERCOM tools that compare the radar appearance of the underlying surface with a route map. In the final leg of the flight, an infrared seeker is used. Information about the route and target is loaded into the missile's memory prior to launch or prior to the sortie of the carrier aircraft. In recent upgrades, it became possible to communicate with the carrier after launch, for example, to retarget or clarify target designation.
The SCALP/Storm Shadow is equipped with a 450 kg high-explosive penetrating warhead of the BROACH type. To break through the protection of the target, a shaped charge is used, followed by the main warhead of a large mass.
Storm Shadow cruise missiles are compatible with a variety of carrier aircraft built to NATO standards. The British RAF use them with Panavia Tornado strike aircraft and Eurofighter Typhoon fighters. In France, the missiles entered the ammunition load of the Dassault Mirage 2000 and Rafale fighter-bombers. The possibility of integrating ALCMs into the ammunition load of other aircraft is not ruled out.
Weak spots
In general, the Storm Shadow missile is a modern aviation weapon and is capable of solving assigned tasks and destroying various ground targets with sufficient efficiency. Its advantages have already been demonstrated in practice, albeit under specific conditions. Often such ALCMs were used in the absence of any opposition from the enemy.
SCALP missile under the bottom of a Dassault Rafale aircraft
The strengths of "Storm Shadow" are high flight performance, primarily flight range, anti-jamming combined guidance system and a fairly heavy warhead. At the same time, the product differs in weight perfection and has a limited mass, which allows it to be used by tactical aircraft.
It is quite understandable why the Kiev regime is interested in obtaining such weapons. However, in his case, there are a number of objective factors that, at the very least, will seriously impede the operation and combat use of imported missiles. As a result, the effectiveness of such weapons will not live up to expectations - if they can be used at all.
First of all, problems with finding media are expected. Earlier it was reported that the British ALCM could be used by modified Su-24M bombers. Such aircraft are fairly easy targets for Russian air defense and fighter aircraft. Accordingly, the use of imported missiles can be stopped already at the stage of the launch vehicle flight to the launch line. The defeat of a bomber after a missile drop will also have a negative impact on the state of the Ukrainian Air Force fleet and the prospects for the use of aviation weapons.
There are currently no other air platforms for Storm Shadow in Ukraine and are not yet expected. There are no compatible ships either. Perhaps an attempt will be made to create some kind of improvised ground launcher. However, such an "ersatz" will create additional problems and limitations.
According to the manufacturer, the Storm Shadow missile is stealthy, due to which it should break through air defense. However, this has not been verified in practice. For example, in April 2018, the British and French Air Force and Navy attacked an object in Syria using Storm Shadow, SCALP and MdCN missiles. The Syrian air defense, armed with Russian-made systems and complexes, successfully repelled the raid and shot down all the ammunition.
Shortly thereafter, the Russian Ministry of Defense demonstrated the wreckage of downed missiles. Obviously, the fragments have been carefully studied, and our designers of air defense systems have drawn the necessary conclusions. Accordingly, the capabilities of Russian air defense systems and air defense systems to combat European missiles have improved.
Free advertising
Thus, foreign partners-patrons again provided the Kyiv regime with a “miracle weapon” designed to change the situation on the fronts and turn the tide of hostilities. However, the constant and systematic actions of the Russian army to demilitarize Ukraine have led to the fact that the use of new British missiles will be at least difficult. In this case, any attempt to use them will be stopped.
However, the Kiev regime will definitely try to use the received Storm Shadow, ignoring all the risks and restrictions. From this episode or episodes, regardless of their results, they will again try to create a sensation and “overcome”, but this will not help the current Ukrainian authorities. The only beneficiary in this situation will be the company MBDA, whose products will receive free advertising - albeit of a dubious nature.
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