The SCALP EG and Storm Shadow missiles are descendants of the Durandal concrete bomb.
Recently, the French authorities announced their intention to transfer long-range air-launched missiles SCALP EG to Kyiv. Earlier, the United Kingdom transferred its version of these ammunition under the name Storm Shadow to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The missile is capable of hitting targets at a distance of up to 560 km and develops a speed of 1000 km/h. True, it is worth making an amendment here that only ammunition equipped with an additional fuel tank can hit the above-mentioned range.
Without it, the missile is capable of hitting targets at a distance of 250 km, which corresponds to the characteristics of the export version.
It is worth noting that the British Storm Shadow has already been repeatedly used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine against targets in the territory of new regions of Russia. At the same time, experts often noted its high destructive ability.
However, this is not surprising when one considers stories this cruise missile. The thing is that it is a distant descendant of the French Durandal concrete-piercing bomb, which was used to destroy runways at enemy airfields and concrete bunkers.
So, in the French SCALP EG, as in its British counterpart Storm Shadow, the same principle applies as in Durandal. The missile warhead consists of primary and secondary charges.
As a result, the first explosion breaks through the wall of the bunker or concrete building, and the second charge penetrates the resulting hole, which explodes already inside.
A similar principle is suitable not only for the destruction of bunkers, but also for the destruction of warships. That is why in 2018 an anti-ship version of the SCALP missile appeared in France.
Finally, it is worth clarifying about SCALP EG and Storm Shadow. Some netizens refer to them as different missiles. Meanwhile, France and Britain developed them jointly, and the ammunition differs only in mountings. This is because countries use different Aviation.
Information