United Kingdom to provide Ukraine with Storm Shadow missile production technology – PM Burnham
The United Kingdom will declassify information on Storm Shadow cruise missile components to enable Ukraine to produce long-range weapons domestically.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced this on August 24 during his first visit to Kyiv since taking office, marking Ukraine’s Independence Day, Censor.NET reports.
Production technology
"The United Kingdom was the first country to provide Ukraine with long-range weapons back in 2023. Volodymyr (Zelenskyy - ed.) has now asked us to share our Storm Shadow technology so that Ukraine can develop this capability independently. I am pleased to confirm today that I have approved this request," Burnham said during a Coalition of the Willing meeting, according to Interfax-Ukraine.
Burnham also announced that the British government was authorising defence company MBDA to disclose classified information needed to help Ukraine and France establish local production of long-range Storm Shadow/SCALP missiles.
Air defence for Ukraine ahead of winter
The British Prime Minister noted that Russian missile launches must be stopped through sanctions and long-term support for Ukraine. He also asked British industry to support the Freya anti-ballistic missile project to provide a more affordable alternative to US Patriot systems.
Burnham added that Ukraine particularly needed stronger air defence ahead of winter because Russia was "running out of options," while Russian dictator Vladimir Putin "now hopes to achieve victory through a campaign of terror using ballistic missiles against Ukrainian civilians."
It was previously reported that the British Prime Minister would announce the transfer of missile production technology for SCALP missiles in Kyiv. SCALP is the French version of Britain’s Storm Shadow missile, and both use shared French and British technology.
Background
- The Storm Shadow missile is manufactured by European defence company MBDA. According to the company, SCALP (known in Britain as Storm Shadow) is a long-range, air-launched, air-to-surface cruise missile designed for precision strikes against fixed, heavily protected targets, including hardened bunkers and key infrastructure.
- The missile can be used by day or night in all weather conditions. Its guidance system combines inertial navigation, GPS and terrain reference navigation. After launch, it flies at low altitude to avoid detection. As it approaches its target, an onboard infrared seeker compares the target image with a preloaded reference image, ensuring high strike accuracy.
