Storm Shadow missiles can become а decisive factor on the battlefield
A few days ago, Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said that the Ukrainian military is using the British long-range Storm Shadow missiles that were recently transferred to Ukraine to the fullest extent possible. The British Ministry of Defense first confirmed the transfer of Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine on May 11.
Military experts believe that this weapon, which can hit targets at a distance of up to 300 kilometers, can become another decisive factor on the battlefield. The Military Media Center named the main advantages of these missiles and described their characteristics.
Range
The operational range of the basic version of the Storm Shadow missile declared by the manufacturer is 250 kilometers, which means that the Air Force of Ukraine can strike the enemy throughout the occupied territories, including the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. To put this into perspective, the distance from liberated Kherson to Sevastopol in a straight line is 237 kilometers; from Zaporizhzhia to Kerch - 295 kilometers; from Kramatorsk to Luhansk - 128 kilometers.
Invisibility
A stealth missile can be flown at low altitudes - 40-60 meters. Following the terrain, it is hardly noticeable even for deeply echeloned enemy air defense.
Accuracy.
The missile is programmed before a combat mission, and its use is based on the principle of "fire and forget". The weapon has a sophisticated guidance system that includes not only inertial and GPS navigation but also a terrain recognition system. When approaching a given target, a thermal imaging homing head is activated, which identifies the target stored in the memory.
Mobility
The capabilities of the airborne platform are many times higher than the mobility of ground-based missile systems.
The military summarizes that Storm Shadow, in combination with AGM-88 HARM anti-radar missiles and JDAM-ER cruise missiles, significantly expands the capabilities of the Defense Forces to deliver tangible damage to the enemy's military potential.
Author - Serhii Kolomiets, 02/06/2023
