The Ukrainian authorities have been striving to obtain permission from their Western masters to use Storm Shadow cruise missiles to strike deep into Russia. Kyiv believes that such actions could force Moscow to start negotiations, The Guardian said in its recent publication. What weapons do the Armed Forces of Ukraine have to attack central regions of Russia, such as Moscow and St. Petersburg?
The Storm Shadow stealth cruise missile is a joint development of Britain and France. The French version is produced under the designation SCALP-EG (Système de croisière conventionnel autonome à longue portée Emploi General). The missile carries a BROACH (Bomb Royal Ordnance Augmented Charge) warhead with an initial penetrating charge to destroy bunkers and underground storage facilities. The warhead weighs 450 kilograms.
The Storm Shadow and SCALP-EG missiles do not require data from the carrier aircraft either before or after launch. Kyiv was able to arm Soviet Su-24 bombers with them without introducing major modifications to the equipment. The export version of the missile is capable of hitting a target at a distance of up to 250 kilometers. At the same time, Paris transfers missiles to Kyiv from its own stocks — the range of those missiles may reach 560 kilometers.
In May, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that Russian Tor-M2 anti-aircraft missile systems effectively intercept Storm Shadow missiles. At the same time, modern cruise missiles are considered a difficult target. Storm Shadow and SCALP are capable of flying at low altitude hiding behind terrain elements.
In 2023, Kyiv received the first Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) ballistic missiles made in the United States. The Block 1 modification of the product carries a cluster warhead, which contains about 950 M74 warheads. The missile is capable of destroying radar stations, parked aircraft, lightly armored vehicles and transport with tungsten striking elements. The destruction radius of one M74 warhead amounts to 15 meters.
Later, Ukraine received the ATACMS Block 1A with a reduced warhead, which increased the range to 300 kilometers. The transport and launch containers in which the ATACMS is stored are unified with wheeled High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers and tracked M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS).
In May, National Defense magazine wrote that Russia's Buk-M3 air defense system was capable of shooting down any ballistic missile that the Armed Forces of Ukraine had at their disposal, including ATACMS of various modifications.
Since 2023, Kyiv has been seeking to receive German-Swedish long-range cruise missiles KEPD-150/350 TAURUS. Last September, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba asked his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock to transfer those missiles to Ukraine. In May, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Kyiv would not be able to program TAURUS missiles. According to the head of the Bundestag Defense Committee Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, Germany should transfer Taurus missiles to Ukraine after Kiev receives F-16 fighters from the US.
The TAURUS missile is considered a competitor to the Storm Shadow/SCALP. The basic version of the product was accepted into service in 2004. The TAURUS missile is equipped with a tandem concrete-piercing warhead MEPHISTO weighing 481 kilograms, which consists of an initial penetrating charge for overcoming obstacles and the main warhead. The missile is capable of flying at an altitude of 30 meters, skirting the terrain. This reduces its visibility to air defense systems. There is also a modification with a cluster warhead.
Last year, it became known that Ukraine wanted to receive JASSM (Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile) cruise missiles from the United States for F-16 fighters that were unsuitable for carrying Storm Shadow/SCALP. After American fighters were delivered to Ukraine, Kyiv and Washington started talking about the need to transfer new missiles. In August, high-ranking American officials told Politico that Washington was open to the idea of transferring JASSM to Kyiv.
JASSM was approved for military use only in 2003. The high-precision missile flies to its target using an inertial control system with GPS correction, and an infrared homing head with a target recognition system is used in the final leg of the flight. The basic version of the missile has a range of 370 kilometers. JASSM is equipped with a WDU-42/B penetrating warhead weighing about 450 kilograms. F-16 fighters are capable of carrying two JASSM missiles.