Russian air defense has shot down 10+ Storm Shadows and missed 6
Ukraine has carried out three successful attacks against Russian positions using the long-range Storm Shadow missile. Each of the attacks involved the use of two missiles. I.e. six missiles used by Ukraine have reached their targets. At the same time, Russian air defenses have managed to intercept 10+ missiles of this model. EurAsian Times claims this in its analysis.
The successful attacks were carried out on May 12, May 14 and May 26. On May 14, Ukrainian armed forces struck a Russian aviation school in Luhansk. Two Storm Shadow missiles were used, which, in addition to somewhat destroying the aircraft, managed to cause the deaths of nine Russian airmen. Two days later, the same Russian position was attacked again with two Storm Shadow missiles. On May 26, a day earlier, two Storm Shadow missiles hit a missile depot in Mariupol.
Of the three successful Ukrainian attacks, the first makes the strongest impression. Many experts claim that this was a well-organized and planned attack. The Ukrainian attack involved the use of a decoy – an ADM-160 missile. This missile managed to engage Russian air defenses and missed the real threat.
10+ missiles shot down
However, Russia quickly adapted to the new threat. Gradually, Russian anti-missile artillery succeeded in coordinated SEAD [Suppression of Enemy Air Defense] and attack missions or saturation strikes. In fact, this is not the first time that Russia has encountered this missile. As we wrote earlier in the month in Syria, Russian air defense was opposed to Storm Shadow. According to Russian military expert Alexey Lenkov, the BUK and TOR systems in Syria successfully countered the British missile.
According to the EurAsian Times, Russia has intercepted Storm Shadow in the past two weeks as follows: one missile on May 15, seven missiles on May 16 [the day the Patriot was hit], an unknown amount of Storm Shadow on May 20 and 22, and two missiles yesterday, on the 26th of May.
Poland’s role
Although Storm Shadow missiles were apparently delivered this year to Ukraine, there were still indications as early as 2022 that Ukraine would receive these missiles. The signals came from Poland. Shortly after Ukraine struck Russia’s Saki airbase in Crimea using the anti-radiation missile HARM [it provided a path to HIMARS], sources confirmed that Poland had begun the integration of the Storm Stadow on the Su-24.
On November 1st, we announced that Poland is the integrator country that has taken on the mission to market the Storm Shadow long-range, conventionally armed, deep strike missile, known by its acronym SCALP.
As then, so now we cannot say in which of the two Polish repair shops the integration takes place – the WZL military plants in Warsaw and Bydgoszcz or the PZL plant in Mielec.
Britain announced the delivery of Storm Shadow to Ukraine in February this year. The Ukrainian armed forces had high hopes that this missile would be able to reduce Russia’s ability to supply its forces.
About Storm Shadow
Storm Shadow is designed to deal with bunkers, corner infrastructure, and moving or fixed targets. The missile’s navigation system is a combination of INS, GPS and terrain referencing. SCALP is over 5 meters long and weighs around 1,300 kg. Powered by a turbojet engine, its range is over 250 km. The missile’s warhead is a blast/penetrator type.
The French missile could provide an advantage to the Ukrainian warplane during a mission. Its ability to engage targets beyond visual range, as well as its low radar signature, makes it stealthy, difficult to identify, and intercept accordingly. Last but not least, the SCALP flies at low altitudes, eliminating much of the enemy’s radar capability.
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