The “three silver bullets” for a successful Ukrainian counteroffensive

According to Ukrainian General Mikola Malomuja, high-precision missiles with a range of 300 km, certain types of armored vehicles, as well as a sufficient amount of ammunition are exactly what Ukraine needs.

“Indeed, Ukraine received about 600 types of weapons. But there are still crucial points that are very important. The provision of UK-made high-precision missiles that can strike at a distance of 300 km, for example, can be called a “silver bullet”, says the general.

Mikola Malomuja calls the provision of armored vehicles the second “silver bullet”. The third component of victory over the enemy is considered by the general to be one million rounds of ammunition. He says that the “silver bullet” is a combination of the latest weapons, equipment, high-precision ammunition and effective actions prepared systematically, very non-standard and multi-faceted.

Storm Shadow missiles could play a key role in a future counteroffensive

On Thursday, May 11, it became official that Britain will supply Ukraine with Storm Shadow cruise missiles capable of hitting the enemy at a distance of up to 250 kilometers.

The question immediately arose as to why these warheads are so important for Ukraine and what new opportunities they can provide. There is only one answer – something that was previously completely inaccessible to the Armed Forces. Within 250 kilometers of the front line is the entire occupied territory of Ukraine, including the Crimean Bridge.

Previously, the main problem for transferring these missiles was finding a powerful carrier. According to experts, a modified Su-24M aircraft could be suitable for launching this missile. Information has now emerged from various sources that the Su-24M would be the “launcher” for these British missiles.

Details and features

The Storm Shadow is a long-range air-launched cruise missile. It is produced by the French company MBDA Systems and its English subsidiary for the armed forces of Great Britain and France. It is a derivative of the older “Apache” rocket from MBDA Systems.

The warhead is designed to hit important stationary objects such as air bases, radar installations, communications hubs and port facilities. Storm Shadow can accurately engage targets in all weather conditions, day or night. Long range combined with subsonic speed make the Storm Shadow a tough missile to shoot down.

It is in service with the air forces of Great Britain, France, Egypt, India, Italy, Greece, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. In service with the United Arab Emirates Air Force, it was given the name Black Shaheen.

Storm Shadow can be integrated on Tornado GR4, Tornado IDS, Saab Gripen, Mirage 2000, Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft. In March 2021, the missile was first launched by a Eurofighter Typhoon of the British Royal Air Force during operations against the Islamic State in Iraq.

Characteristics

The Storm Shadow missile is designed to hit well-protected targets. It is equipped with drag and forget technology and fully autonomous guidance. The length of the missile is 5.1 m, the wingspan is 3 m, the diameter of the body is 0.48 m. It weighs 1300 kg and has a flight range of more than 250 km.

The warhead is designed to hit targets with increased accuracy due to the use of various navigation systems installed on board. The missile’s navigation system includes inertial navigation (INS), global positioning system (GPS) and terrain navigation for better trajectory control and accurate target engagement. The missile is equipped with a passive viewing infrared homing head.

The Storm Shadow missile is programmed to take into account all the details of the target and the path it must take to reach the target, even before it is launched. After detaching from the aircraft, the missile follows a pre-programmed low-level trajectory with the help of continuous updates from the on-board navigation system. It uses an infrared detector that compares the actual target area with stored images.

The Storm Shadow is one of the best cruise missile options for the armed forces at this stage of the war, when the US is not yet ready to provide long-range ATACMS missiles.

The editor-in-chief of Defense Express, Oleg Katkov, said that the Storm Shadow missiles, which Ukraine received from Britain, are much better than ATACMS. He explained that this weapon is much more mobile, has a more advanced targeting system and can also hit moving objects.

“Its warhead is twice as powerful as ATACMS and can also break through reinforced concrete. Typically, such missiles were used for the most protected targets,” Katkov explained.

He added that the use of Storm Shadow is possible even in the conditions of air defense, because this missile “… has a programmed route that bypasses the enemy’s air defense.” According to Katkov, its efficiency is 97%.

The editor of Defense Express confirmed that Storm Shadow is capable of hitting the Crimean Bridge. But, he says, “currently, there are much more ‘interesting’ targets for it – a large number of air bases, especially in Crimea,” Katkov said.