The UK-made Storm Shadow missiles Ukraine is using in Russia

Ukraine used UK-made Storm Shadow cruise missiles to strike a Russian chemical plant on Tuesday, according to the Ukrainian military. The plant reportedly produced gunpowder, explosives and rocket fuel components for missiles and ammunition. The “outcome of the strike is being assessed”, the military said.

The attack comes after last week’s meeting at the White House in which Donald Trump told Volodymyr Zelenskyy that he was not prepared to supply Ukraine with its sought-after Tomahawk missiles, which would be capable of striking targets even further into Russia.

Even though Ukraine “has been innovating with weapons capable of reaching deeper into Russian territory”, its military still needs foreign technology to “match Russia’s more advanced missile arsenal”, said Bloomberg.

What are Storm Shadow missiles?

Developed jointly by the UK and France, long-range Storm Shadow cruise missiles, known as Scalp, can strike targets up to around 150 miles from their launch site. Their manufacturer, MBDA, says the missiles are designed to carry out high-precision attacks, making use of an advanced navigation system to evade detection.

Launched from an aircraft in most cases, the missiles fly low to the ground, below radar, at speeds that can exceed 600mph. Targets are pinpointed with an internal camera.

Storm Shadow is “considered an ideal weapon for penetrating hardened bunkers and ammunition stores”, said the BBC. Each missile costs in the region of $1 million, so they are typically deployed with “a carefully planned flurry of much cheaper drones, sent ahead to confuse and exhaust the enemy’s air defences”.

How have they been used?

The UK first gave the missiles to Ukraine in May 2023, but Keir Starmer didn’t give permission to use the weapons on targets inside Russia until November last year.

Since then, the cruise missiles have been used “against targets including military headquarters and ships”, though “operational details of their use do not always emerge”, said Sky News. The missiles are likely being operated from within Ukraine but with input from “intelligence gathered by Western surveillance planes” over international waters.

In addition to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Storm Shadow missiles were also reported to have been used by India against Pakistan earlier this year. According to their manufacturer, they have also been used in Iraq, Libya and Syria.

How are they different from Tomahawks?

Tomahawks, the US-made missiles originally sought by Ukraine, have a much longer range than Storm Shadows so could hit targets deeper inside Russia. The most common variant of the Tomahawk can travel almost 1,000 miles at 550mph, making them difficult to detect and intercept. They have been used in combat since 1991 and “are typically launched from sea to attack targets in deep-strike missions”, said The Guardian.

Though Trump had previously indicated openness to supplying Ukraine with Tomahawks, he “changed tack” in his meeting with the Ukrainian president on Friday, said the Financial Times. “He did not want to escalate the conflict or drain US stockpiles”. The president said: “We need them too, so I don’t know what we can do about that.”