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Britain is first nation to send Storm Shadow long-range missiles to Ukraine
The weapons, which cost about £2.2m each, outstrip the US-supplied Himars and can be fired deep behind Russia enemy lines
ByDanielle Sheridan, DEFENCE EDITOR ; Dominic Nicholls, ASSOCIATE EDITOR and Genevieve Holl-Allen11 May 2023 • 1:21pm
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Britain is supplying Ukraine with Storm Shadow missiles that can hit targets nearly 200 miles away, the longest range rockets to be used against Russia.
Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary, confirmed reports that the RAF cruise missiles are arriving to bolster Ukraine’s anticipated counter-offensive.
The move comes after the US and other allies ruled out sending longer-range missiles to Ukraine over fears of provoking Vladimir Putin.
The Storm Shadow missiles could be fired deep behind enemy lines, potentially disrupting Moscow’s supply chains.
Their range of 186 miles far outstrips the US-supplied Himars, which can hit targets up to 60 miles away and have been instrumental in pinning back the Russian army.
Mr Wallace told the Commons on Thursday that “the Prime Minister and I have now taken the decision to provide longer range capabilities” to the country.
The Kremlin warned before Mr Wallace's speech that supplying Storm Shadow missiles would require “an adequate response from our military”.
Mr Wallace responded that “it is the actions of Russia alone” that have led to Storm Shadow missiles being provided to Ukraine.
He told MPs: “It is my judgment as Defence Secretary that this is a calibrated and proportionate response to Russia's escalations.”
He added that “while these weapons will give Ukraine new capability, members should recognise that these systems are not even in the same league as the Russian AS-24 killjoy hypersonic missile” or “even the Kalibr cruise missile with a range of over 2,000 kilometres, roughly seven times that of a Storm Shadow missile”.
The Storm Shadow cruise missiles cost about £2.2 million each and are fired from a fighter jet, as opposed to the Himars ground launchers.
The missiles carry a specialist penetrating 450kg warhead designed to destroy hardened and buried targets from long range. They fly at a low altitude to avoid detection.
No details have been released about numbers to be sent.
Ukraine has been asking for long range precision munitions for months to hit Russian command posts, ammunition and logistic depots and key pieces of battlefield equipment such as air defence.
The US has resisted pressure from Kyiv to send the long range surface-to-surface Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), supposedly over fears they could be used to hit targets inside Russia; an act deemed too sensitive and escalatory, given the poor performance by Russia’s forces since the launch of the full-scale war in February 2022.
Rishi Sunak has made it clear that he wants the UK to be the first nation to send longer-range missiles to Ukraine.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference in February he said: “Together we must help Ukraine to shield its cities from Russian bombs and Iranian drones, that’s why the United Kingdom will be the first country to give Ukraine longer-range weapons.”
The Storm Shadows have been supplied independent of the International Fund for Ukraine (IFU), a UK-led mechanism for procuring weapons through like-minded allies.
The fund recently invited industry suppliers to submit expressions of interest to provide equipment to meet missiles or rockets with a range of up to 300km to launch from land, sea or air.
However, defence sources said to have gone through this route, which has an executive panel consisting of the UK, Norway, Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden, would have taken “ages”.
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They added that the UK has “often led the charge” in supporting Ukraine, citing thousands of Next-generation Light Anti-tank Weapons (N-law) and the 14 Challenger 2 tanks sent to Ukraine, as well as Ukrainian pilot training on RAF fighter jets.
“With getting these weapons for Ukrainian, what they need is always the goal,” they said.
Related Topics
Russia-Ukraine war,
United Kingdom,
Ministry of Defence
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