Ukraine has long been appealing to Western countries, requesting the transfer of long-range weapons to disrupt the rear and logistical routes supporting the Russian invading forces.

Representatives of the authorities and military command of Ukraine asked to provide the Armed Forces of Ukraine with American ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles with a range of up to 300 km.

However, instead of ATACMS, Ukraine received unexpected assistance from Britain in May 2023 — Storm Shadow air-launched cruise missiles, which have a claimed operational range of over 250 kilometers.

These missiles are primarily designed to target fixed installations located deep within enemy territory.

Storm Shadow/SCALP EG

The Franco-British Storm Shadow/SCALP EG is a long-range air-launched cruise missile. It is designed to pass through air defense systems and destroy important steady targets, in particular bunkers.

The 5.1 meter long missile has a flight weight of up to 1300 kg, and the mass of its warhead is 450 kg.

The missile was jointly developed by Matra (France) and British Aerospace (UK) from the late 1990s to the early 2000s. It is now produced by the MBDA consortium.

In 2003, the Storm Shadow/SCALP EG was adopted by France and the United Kingdom. These missiles are also in service with several other countries.

The French version of the missile, called SCALP EG and the British Storm Shadow are generally identical; they differ only by the software and by their compatibility with types of aircraft that are designed to carry this missile.

The declared operational range of the Storm Shadow/SCALP EG cruise missile’s export version exceeds 250 km, and is up to 560 km for the French and British armies.

The missile is controlled by a triple navigation system during the flight to the target, using inertial navigation, GPS, and terrain tracking.

Final targeting is performed due to infrared homing and automatic algorithms for target recognition.

Currently, Storm Shadow/SCALP EGs are integrated into Eurofighter Typhoon, Dassault Rafale, Panavia Tornado, and Dassault Mirage 2000 aircraft.

Recently, the Su-24 aircraft of the Ukrainian Air Force have also been using these missiles.

British Storm Shadow in Ukraine

Since May 2023, Ukrainian combat aviation has been using British Storm Shadow precision cruise missiles to strike Russian invading forces in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

The UK handed over these weapons to Ukraine as military assistance to confront the Russian full-scale invasion, which began on February 24, 2022.

In February 2023, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stated his country would be the first to provide Ukraine with long-range weapons.

On May 11, 2023, CNN, citing several Western officials, reported that the United Kingdom supplied the Ukrainian Armed Forces with Storm Shadow air-launched cruise missiles.

Later, the British Secretary of State for Defense, Ben Wallace, confirmed the transfer of these missiles to Ukraine.

The decision to transfer this weapon was made after repeated requests from Ukraine to provide more weapons to counter Russian aggression.

Ben Wallace said the missiles would “allow Ukraine to push back Russian forces based on Ukrainian sovereign territory.”

He also added that the UK made this decision after Russia “continued down a dark path,” attacking civil infrastructure in Ukraine.

“The donation of these missile systems gives Ukraine the best chance to defend itself against Russian brutality,” UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace stated in the House of Commons.

Integration of British missiles with aircraft of the Ukrainian Air Force

To use Storm Shadow cruise missiles, Ukraine converted Soviet-era Ukrainian aircraft.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov released a leaflet on May 24, 2023 with a Su-24MR front-line reconnaissance aircraft, on which a Storm Shadow cruise missile was likely mounted.

Ben Wallace, the UK Secretary of State for Defence, who authorized the transfer of Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine, made an inscription devoted to Ukrainian pilots on one of the missiles. The claimed operational range of this cruise missile is more than 250 kilometers.

Later in June 2023, images of a Ukrainian Su-24 flying with two British missiles under its wings were shared on social media. The aircraft was flying to perform a combat mission: to defeat objects of Russian invaders in the temporarily captured territories of Ukraine.

For the compatibility of these missiles with the Su-24, Ukraine probably used its experience and technical solutions to adapt Soviet-made Ukrainian warplanes to American HARM anti-radiation missiles and JDAM-equipped bombs, which Ukrainian aviation uses to strike at Russian invaders.

Storm Shadow сombat use in Ukraine

The day after the report that the aircraft of the Armed Forces of Ukraine received British Storm Shadow cruise missiles, the Russians announced that the Ukrainian military was already using these weapons.

Eastern direction

On May 12, explosions rang out in the center of temporarily occupied Luhansk. Eyewitnesses reported on social media about a fire on the territory of the former Engineering Plant “100” (the Polypak enterprise).

At that time, the specific weapon used was not definitively known, but the Russians also claimed that the strike was carried out with Storm Shadow cruise missiles.

Near the site of the explosion, locals found the remains of an ADM-160B MALD Miniature Air Launched Decoy. Its purpose was to distract enemy air defense systems.

This may indicate that it was indeed cruise missiles that were used, as decoys were employed to divert Russian air defenses while the cruise missiles precisely targeted specific installations used by the invaders.

It is noteworthy that the United States has not previously reported the transfer of ADM-160B missiles to Ukraine.

Further missile attacks on occupied Luhansk continued.

On the morning of May 13, 2023, an explosion sounded again in the Russian-controlled city of Luhansk. Then a missile attack was announced on the village of Yuvileyne, in the suburbs of occupied Luhansk.

There was information about the destruction of the building of the former University of Internal Affairs. According to some Russian media, the military of the Russian invasion army could be there.

And on May 15, 2023, an explosion rang out again in occupied Luhansk. The Russians announced a missile strike on the city.

According to reports on social media, at that time the building of the former Luhansk Higher Military Aviation School of Navigators was hit. This building could have a military base or barracks with personnel from the Russian invasion forces.

Southern direction

Presumably, the Ukrainian Storm Shadow cruise missiles were also used for strikes on invaders in the south of Ukraine.

On May 19, 2023, powerful explosions sounded in the suburbs of occupied Mariupol in the Donetsk region and near the city’s airport.

Local residents released several videos of powerful explosions.

The Russians said at that time that four unidentified missiles had allegedly targeted the territory temporarily occupied by the Russians.

And on the morning of May 21, 2023, a series of explosions also sounded in the temporarily occupied Berdyansk city in the Zaporizhzhya region.

Local Telegram channels reported that there was a fire in the area of the airfield captured by the Russians; eyewitnesses saw thick smoke.

On May 26, 2023, powerful explosions sounded in occupied Mariupol near the Azovstal enterprise.

Russian occupation authorities said Ukraine allegedly used two Storm Shadow cruise missiles.

Mariupol was captured by Russian forces in May 2022 after nearly three months of fierce fighting. During this time, a significant number of houses and other objects were destroyed in the city. The exact death toll in the city is currently unknown.

On May 27, 2023, strong explosions thundered near the temporarily occupied city of Berdyansk. First, an air alert sounded in the occupied city, and then people heard explosions’ loud sounds.

Later, firefighters headed to the scene of the hit, and the Russian aircraft circled in the air.

Ukraine’s local resistance movement members asserted the missiles targeted the invaders’ training ground. However, Deputy Chairman of the Berdyansk District Council Viktor Dudukalov said that the explosions occurred at the recreation centers “Himik” and “Vesna” on the coast of the Sea of ​Azov, where the enemy’s personnel were located.

On that day, powerful explosions also sounded on the territory of the Azovkabel plant.

Presumably, strikes were carried out on Russian military warehouses, which were placed on the territory of the plant.

Already on June 2, 2023, objects critical to Russian troops in the occupied south suffered another missile strike.

At about 12:00, the missiles broke through the air defense of the invaders and hit the seaport in Berdyansk, which the Russians use to ship ammunition and other military property.

The Ukrainian city of Berdyansk and Berdyansk district were captured by Russian invasion forces in late February 2022.

Most of the Russian facilities that were destroyed during these missile attacks, were outside the range of other western weapons that were in the service of the Ukraine’s Army, including the HIMARS.

Therefore, presumably the Ukrainian military used the recently acquired Storm Shadow cruise missiles from the UK, which have already been adapted for use with Soviet-made combat aircraft currently in service with the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ Air Force.

Performance of Storm Shadow

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine revealed the effectiveness of the use of Storm Shadow cruise missiles received from the United Kingdom.

The Minister of Defense, Oleksii Reznikov, said that the Ukrainian military uses these long-range missiles with 100% efficiency.

“Of the total number of Storm Shadow launches that have already occurred, all 100% are accurate hits on the targets determined by the General Staff – 100 per 100,” the Minister of Defense said.

Results of the combat use of British missiles

Storm Shadow missiles showed their ability to pass Russian air defenses everywhere in the occupied territories and strike at important military targets of the Russian invaders.

The use of British cruise missiles allows for the expansion of the combat capabilities of Ukrainian combat aircraft.

The psychological factor of influencing the enemy by using these missiles also shouldn’t be underestimated. Now the enemy knows about the ability of the Ukrainian army to inflict precision and painful strikes.