According to British media, British Defense Minister Ben Wallace, speaking in the House of Commons on March 9, 2022, said that the UK plans to supply Ukraine with Starstreak HVM short-range anti-aircraft missile systems and a "small batch" of American Javelin anti-tank guided missiles.
British short-range anti-aircraft missile system Starstreak HVM in a portable version with a three-shot support launcher LML (c) Ministry of Defense of the United Kingdom
Ben Wallace also said that the UK will continue to supply Ukraine with NLAW anti-tank missile systems, and has already provided Ukraine with 3,615 of these complexes, which is almost twice the previously announced figure of 2,000 units.
Wallace said that Ukraine has already received "900 portable anti-aircraft missile systems" - we are talking about Stinger complexes supplied by other NATO countries. But its "capabilities need to be strengthened," Wallace said. "therefore, in response to requests from Ukraine, the government decided to study the issue of the gratuitous transfer of portable anti-aircraft missile systems Starstreak HVM."
From the bmpd side, we point out that the Starstreak HVM (High Velocity Missile) short-range air defense system was developed jointly by the British companies BAe (now BAE Systems) and Short Brothers (now Thales Air Defense) and was mass-produced by the latter at the Belfast facility for the British Army since 1997. The complex uses a high-speed two-stage solid-fuel rocket with a mass of 14 kg (with a TPK - 16.8 kg) and a length of 1.4 m and a diameter of 130 mm placed in a transport and launch container, developing a speed of up to M = 4 and capable of maneuvering with overloads of more than 9 g. The maximum firing range is up to 7000-7500 m and the altitude reach is up to 4500-5000 m . The complex has a semi-automatic laser beam guidance system, which makes it resistant to passive interference countermeasures. A feature of the missile complex is a separable "scattering" head with three tungsten "darts" weighing 0.9 kg, each of which has 450 grams of explosives. armor-piercing core and fuse with deceleration, and its own laser beam guidance system ("spot"). Since 2013, the British Ministry of Defense has purchased a batch of modified Starstreak II anti-aircraft guided missiles with slightly more powerful engines.
The Starstreak HVM complex was developed in three versions - self-propelled (the main one in the British Army, made on the chassis of a Stormer tracked APC), portable and portable. It should be noted that a purely portable version of the shoulder-launched complex was mass-produced in small quantities and entered service only with the British Marines (and may also have been delivered to South Africa) - presumably this is due to the difficulty of using a laser beam guidance system by the operator of the portable version. Therefore, the "portable" version of the Starstreak HVM in the British Army is referred to as the portable version of the Lightweight Multiple Launcher (LML), which has been received since 2000, having a three-shot support launcher with a mass of 20 kg without a TPC with missiles and is normally transported by Land Rover or HMMWV. The LML installation is equipped with a thermal imaging sight, which ensures round-the-clock use. According to various sources, the British armed Forces have received up to 48 LML launchers (the battery's staff consists of 12 LML launchers), and, apparently, they are now planned to be transferred to Ukraine.
On the world market, the Starstreak HVM complex had limited success and was purchased in small quantities in a self-propelled (on an automobile chassis) in the variant with Indonesia and Malaysia, and in the variant with the installation of LML - South Africa, Thailand and Malaysia.
Anti-aircraft guided missile of the British short-range anti-aircraft missile system Starstreak HVM (c) www.thinkdefence.co.uk
