Colonel Khodarenok said that Kiev will use Storm Shadow missiles in the offensive/SCALP According to Western media, the UK will purchase guided missiles for Ukraine with a firing range from 100 to 300 kilometers.
Military observer of the Newspaper.En" Mikhail Khodarenok is sure that Storm Shadow/SCALP missiles are already in service with the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the Ukrainian army can use them already in May during the offensive.
London intends to purchase and transfer long-range missiles to Kiev, writes Defence24.
"For Ukraine, they plan to purchase missiles with a firing range from 100 to 300 kilometers, which can be launched from the ground, water or air," the publication says.
"Funds for weapons and equipment will be taken from the International Fund for Assistance to Ukraine, which is formed by contributions from Great Britain, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Lithuania. Applications from participants are open until May 4," the publication writes.
Such publications should first of all be considered as operational camouflage measures carried out according to a single plan and plan, intended solely to mislead the enemy (that is, the Russian Federation) about the true intentions of the collective West and the upcoming actions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Most likely, such missiles have long been delivered to the armed forces of Ukraine (in terms of preparation for the upcoming offensive) and are already in a high degree of readiness for combat use.
The question arises - what kind of missiles did the armed forces of Ukraine receive?
Back in mid-December 2022, it was reported that London allowed the possibility of supplying Kiev with Storm Shadow cruise missiles. The Minister of Defense of the United Kingdom, Ben Wallace, at that time did not rule out the supply of air-launched cruise missiles of this type to Ukraine.
On the eve of the new year 2023, the Minister for the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom, James Hippy, said that despite possible risks, London will continue to support the Armed Forces with an "appropriate and balanced set of military means" to help Ukraine "protect its sovereign territory."
"The UK will analyze the support provided to Ukraine and does not exclude the possibility of providing longer-range weapons systems," Hippy stressed.
That is, in practice, all this looks somehow very, very doubtful - six months ago to declare the possibility of supplying Storm Shadow missiles, and today to report allegedly only about the "intention to acquire and transfer" such weapons to Kiev. That is, it turns out that it takes six months to think hard about the possibility of deliveries. There is no logic at all here. And statements of high officials are not made for the sake of shaking the air in the West.
Back in mid-April, it was assumed that the United Kingdom had supplied the APU with Storm Shadow/SCALP-type air-launched cruise missiles for strikes against the objects of the Russian Armed Forces stationed in the deep rear.
So, most likely, Storm Shadow has been in the arsenals of the APU for a long time and products of this type are waiting in the wings. Again, the answer to the question is clear - why has this missile not been used by the APU before? Here, the actions of the Ukrainian side are quite understandable and look like this - to get weapons, create the necessary stocks, use them suddenly and in large volumes, thereby achieving the required effect of operational significance.
The Storm Shadow/SCALP air-launched cruise missile is a joint Anglo-French development and is produced by the MBDA European consortium (Matra BAE Dynamics Alenia).
The French version of the missile is designated by the abbreviation SCALP EG, which translates as a multi-purpose high-precision long-range cruise missile with autonomous guidance. The product is equipped with a 450 kg warhead, the Storm Shadow firing range exceeds 250 km, the flight altitude is 30-40 m, the rocket speed is 0.8 M (approximately 1000 km / h).
The firing range of Storm Shadow /SCALP varies in various publications and reference books. In some sources it is given as over 250 km, in others - 300 nautical miles (550 km). There is also a possibility that the manufacturer keeps the true firing range secret. It is quite possible that it significantly exceeds 550 km. In this case, the Moscow region may also be in the zone of its defeat.
The Ukrainian Air Forces can use the Su-24M front-line bomber as the Storm Shadow carrier aircraft. Earlier, Poland promised to adapt Ukrainian aircraft of this type for the combat use of Storm Shadow in the shortest possible time.
In addition, Eastern European NATO countries have handed over to Ukraine several dozen front-line MiG-29 fighters, upgraded for the combat use of Western aviation weapons. So Kiev doesn't seem to have any big difficulties with the carriers.
The principle of guidance of the "Storm Shadow" is "shot and forgot". The use of Storm Shadow in military conflicts has been recorded since 2003. During the fighting, the missile demonstrated very high efficiency.
Among the tactical and technical characteristics of Storm Shadow, special attention should be paid to the parameters of the warhead - almost half a ton of high-penetrating explosives, which is twice as much in weight as the ATACMS Block IA tactical ballistic missile, which Ukraine has been unsuccessfully asking from the West since the beginning of the conflict.
The intended targets for Storm Shadow are command posts, communication centers, ammunition depots, ships at anchorages, infrastructure facilities (bridge crossings, railway junctions, unloading stations). The cost of the Storm Shadow rocket is €850 thousand.
The most priority object for a Storm Shadow cruise missile strike is, of course, the Crimean Bridge. It is on him, there is every reason to believe, that in the first hours of the upcoming offensive operation, the APU can deliver the first and most powerful blow with the aim of completely destroying this bridge crossing.
It should be borne in mind that the Crimean Bridge is not only of strategic importance for the transportation of materiel for the United Group of Troops (forces) of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, but also has the most important moral and psychological significance for the broadest masses of the Russian population. It is for these reasons that it appears in the list of objects for fire destruction by the forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine at number one.
As for the specific time of the Ukrainian strike by Storm Shadow missiles (it is possible that in combination with Harpoon anti-ship missiles), then it does not require being an outstanding prophet of our time to determine the date and even the hour accurately enough. Again, given the extremely important importance of Victory Day for the Russian population, it is possible that this blow will be struck precisely on the night of May 8-9, followed by the transition of the Armed Forces of Ukraine into a general offensive.
The author expresses a personal opinion, which may not coincide with the position of the editorial board. Mikhail Khodarenok