Senior Western officials confirmed to CNN that Britain has officially provided Ukraine with "Storm Shadow" precision-guided cruise missiles, significantly enhancing the long-range strike capability that Kyiv has requested since the beginning of the conflict.
A few weeks earlier, among classified US documents leaked online via the Discord messaging platform, US intelligence indicated that Britain intended to send an unspecified number of "Storm Shadow" missiles to Ukraine, along with operating personnel.
Passive target matching combined navigation technology
The "Storm Shadow" missile is designed to penetrate hard targets. It features "fire-and-forget" technology and a fully automated guidance system. The "Storm Shadow" is 5.1 meters long, has a wingspan of 3 meters, a body diameter of 0.48 meters, weighs 1.3 tons, and has a range of over 250 kilometers.
The new weapons that Ukraine has received are designed to strike targets with greater precision, using various guidance systems installed inside.
The missile's guidance system includes inertial navigation system (INS), global positioning system (GPS), and terrain-referenced guidance, allowing for better trajectory control and precise target engagement. Additionally, the missile is equipped with a passive infrared imaging seeker.
The “Storm Shadow” is programmed with every detail about the target and trajectory before launch. After being released from the aircraft, the missile follows a pre-programmed trajectory at low altitude with the help of continuously updated data from its internal navigation system. It then uses an infrared imaging seeker to compare images of the actual area with stored images until it approaches the target.
Regarding the warhead, the "Storm Ball" is equipped with a two-stage explosive/armor-piercing warhead. The first stage paves the way for the second stage by penetrating the target's surface, before the main warhead penetrates and detonates.
The "Storm Shadow" missile is equipped with a Turbomeca Microturbo TRI 60-30 turbojet engine system, capable of generating 5.4kN of thrust.
The premise for the counterattack.
The “Storm Shadow” is a long-range, stealth cruise missile jointly developed by Britain and France, typically launched from the air. With a range exceeding 250 km (155 miles), it is only slightly less capable than the 185-mile range of the US-made Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) that Ukraine has long requested.
In particular, the “Storm Shadow” has a strike range that extends deep into Russian-held territories in eastern Ukraine. A Western official told CNN that the UK had received assurances from the Ukrainian government that these missiles would only be used within sovereign Ukrainian territory and not aimed at Russian territory.
"If we can strike from a distance of up to 300km, the Russian army will be unable to defend itself and will have to lose," Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov told the European Union earlier this year.
Senior U.S. military officials have described the missile as “a real game-changer, from a range perspective” and giving Ukraine the capability it has requested since the start of the conflict. As CNN reported, Ukraine’s current maximum range of U.S.-supplied weapons is approximately 49 miles.
The website of MBDA Missile Systems, the European company that manufactures "Storm Shadow," states: “After launch, the weapon descends to a terrain-following altitude to avoid detection. As it approaches the target, its integrated infrared seeker compares the target image with stored images to ensure accurate strike and minimize collateral damage.”
The U.S. has supplied Ukraine with several guided missile systems, including the High Mobility Artillery Missile System, or HIMARS, but only with munitions that have a limited range of about 50 miles. In a weapons package announced earlier this year, the Pentagon said it would send Ukraine small-diameter ground-launched bombs (GLSDBs) with double the range. These can also be launched from HIMARS, but delivery is not expected until later this year at the earliest.
(According to CNN and Washington Post)
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