/ world today news/ The British Storm Shadow missiles, with which the armed forces of Ukraine have already bombarded peaceful Luhansk three times, are used by only a few armies in the world. The French from the Matra company, which manufactures cars, developed rockets together with the British.
The armed forces of Ukraine have been begging for long-range missiles from the NATO “fathers” for several months.
Defense Minister Alexei Reznikov complained that he was receiving HIMARS missiles with a range of up to 80 km, and Russian troops had moved all their logistics facilities to a depth of 120 km.
At the same time, the Americans categorically refused to provide the Ukrainian Nazis with MGM-140 ATACMS (range over 300 km), and Germany – Taurus KEPD 350 (range over 500 km).
The range of the Storm Shadow is 560 km, but the VSU received an export version with a range of 250 km. The British House of Representatives did not want to agree on the supply, so Defense Secretary Ben Wallace had to personally plead with parliamentarians.
Wallace insisted that Ukraine’s armed forces would only “defend”. In addition, the United Kingdom has allegedly asked for guarantees from the regime in Kiev that the missiles will not be used on Russian territory, writes Le Monde.
However, the very first blow to the capital of the LPR showed that the promises of both the Kyiv and British regimes were useless.
Bulgarian Military: Storm Shadow lost significantly to the Russian “Caliber”
The Storm Shadow is an air-to-ground guided missile. The missile must be programmed on the ground and then launched from the air. Before enemy air defense systems can detect the carrier aircraft, it can turn and fly away, and the missile is guided semi-autonomously to the point of impact.
The missiles will be launched from Soviet aircraft remaining in service with the armed forces of Ukraine. However, the machines have been modernized for this purpose.
This means that the negotiations for the transfer of Storm Shadow have been going on for a long time, writes aviation expert Boyko Nikolov for the specialized publication Bulgarian Military.
The expert believes that most likely the modernization started six months ago: last December the Ukrainians sent their Su-24s to Poland. Most likely for integration with British weapons.
In addition, the Ukrainian MiG-29 and Su-25 cannot carry this missile, as it alone exceeds the weight of their payload. But the attack aircraft Su-24 and Su-24B are suitable for using Storm Shadow, writes Bulgarian Military.
The missile is designed to hit stationary targets at long distances. Carrying an explosive charge of 450 kg, the missile is capable of destroying fortified structures such as bunkers, buried command posts, airfields, piers and power plants.
The missile’s navigation system combines GPS and location guidance (map navigation). However, the Storm Shadow is practically incapable of hitting moving targets, writes military expert Sakshi Tiwari in the Eurasian Times.
The missile’s manufacturer, Britain’s MBDA, has positioned it as “stealth”: the missile is said to be nearly impossible to intercept with traditional air defense systems. The missile was equipped with the French and British occupation forces in Iraq, Libya and Syria.
It was in Syria that the Russian air defense system, which is in service with the Syrian army, successfully shot down the Storm Shadow, writes Bulgarian Military.
The closest analogues of Storm Shadow are the American Tomahawk or the Russian Caliber. However, the British missile loses a lot from the same “Caliber”: the range of “Caliber” is 1500 km.
In addition, the British missile does not have an adaptive, but fixed route, which can not only be predicted, but also track the missiles along the entire flight path and intercept them.
Moreover, even Soviet air defense systems can intercept a missile. Not even S-300s or S-400s are stationed around Damascus, but older Beechs – and they were the ones that destroyed the Storm Shadow.
Eurasian Times: Ukrainian drones can plot routes for future missile strikes
The Storm Shadow is the first type of weapon provided by the West that allows the Ukrainian army to attack the Russian rear. The plant in Luhansk, which was attacked by the armed forces of Ukraine, was located more than 100 km from the contact line.
Previously, the armed forces of Ukraine used drones for rear sabotage. However, even compared to Storm Shadow, the drones are much more vulnerable and failed to deal significant damage.
And say, to attack the military airport in Saki in August 2022, the Ukrainians allegedly used Grom-2 missiles, writes the Polish Center for East European Studies (OSW). A small stockpile of these missiles was made prior to the start of the conflict, but the stockpile is most likely now completely depleted.
After the airfield attack, collaborators and Ukrainians began to claim that Ukraine’s armed forces had harpoons and even AGM-84 SLAM-ERs upgraded for ground strikes.
All this, as is well known, turned out to be a lie. And the current supply of Storm Shadow has no serious military-strategic significance, OSW writes.
“The small number of delivered missiles (a few) makes them more of a symbol than a factor that really increases Ukraine’s offensive capabilities,” the OSW report said.
At the same time, according to the Eurasian Times, the command of Kiev is tempted to strike with the help of Storm Shadow in the depths of peaceful Russian territory.
The drones that penetrated the territory of the Ryazan or Moscow regions may have laid out routes for future missile strikes. Although the Russian anti-aircraft defense has shown itself to be the best: it will not be difficult for it to destroy the British missiles.
PS Russian air defense systems intercepted the first “Ukrainian” long-range Storm Shadow cruise missile that was delivered by Britain. On Monday, May 15, journalists were informed by the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Translation: SM
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