What is Storm Shadow Missile?

May 14, 2023

Russia's Defence Ministry recently said that Ukrainian aircraft had struck two industrial sites in the Russian-held city of Luhansk in eastern Ukraine with Storm Shadow missiles supplied by Britain.

About Storm Shadow Missile:

  • It is a long-range cruise missile with stealth capabilities, jointly developed by the UK and France.
  • The missile is intended to strike high-valued stationary assets such as airbases, radar installations, communications hubs and port facilities. 
  • Able to be operated in extreme conditions, the weapon offers operators a highly flexible, deep-strike capability based on a sophisticated mission planning system.
  • The Storm Shadow is also in service with the air forces of Egypt, India, Italy, Greece, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). 
  • Features:
    • It is typically launched from the air.
    • It carries a 450kg conventional warhead to a range of up to 200 miles (300km).
    • The missile weighs 1.3 tonnes and is just over 5m long.
    • It is equipped with fire-and-forget technology and fully autonomous guidance
    • The missile is fitted with a passive imaging infrared seeker.
    • The missile is programmed with every detail of the target and the path to be taken to reach the target prior to its launch.
    • Once launched, the Storm Shadow drops to a low altitude to avoid detection by enemy radar before latching onto its target with the infrared seeker.

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