Things have long been very bad in Ukraine due to a lack of ammunition. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has asked both the US and the EU to pull out the finger, so that Ukraine will be able to cope with Russia’s firepower.
Ukraine is now probably in for a somewhat brighter time after the US Congress approved the long-awaited support package of 61 billion dollars.
In addition, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced this week that the UK will contribute its largest Ukraine package to date. The package will be worth 500 million pounds and includes, among other things, 400 vehicles, 60 boats, more than 1,600 missiles and four million rounds of ammunition.
The government refers to the support package as “our largest delivery of vital equipment ever”, and writes that it ensures the rapid delivery of badly needed ammunition, air defenses, drones and support for production.
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This is Storm Shadow
The support pack should also contain several Storm Shadow missiles.
Lars Peder Haga researches Russian air power and military power Photo: The Norwegian Armed Forces
The Storm Shadow is a modern cruise missile built to be launched from aircraft. A cruise missile is simply a missile with wings and usually a jet engine that flies like a small plane, and has some form of steering mechanism to hit targets with relatively high precision.
– They can typically fly very low and maneuver so that they can hide behind the horizon and terrain from an opponent’s air defense systems, says Lars Peder Haga at the Norwegian Air Force School to ABC Nyheter.
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According to Haga, Storm Shadow must have a range of at least 300 kilometers, which means that it can reach all Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine from Ukrainian-controlled airspace.
Ukraine has previously used the long-range British missiles, including in the destruction of a Russian warship and the submarine Rostov-na-Donu, which was based in the port city of Sevastopol in Crimea.
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An RAF Tornado GR4 aircraft with Storm Shadow missiles. Photo: British Ministry of Defence
Difficult to protect against
According to Haga, Storm Shadow must have good resistance against electronic warfare, and a good ability to maneuver at the end of its attack, so that it is difficult to protect against.
– Storm Shadow uses a combination of several types of control, including GPS and an IR camera that can be programmed to recognize specific targets, so that it has high precision. The warhead is designed to penetrate concrete and destroy protected targets, the air force expert explains.
Not tipping the war in Ukraine’s favor
The addition of more Storm Shadow means that Ukraine can continue to attack highly profitable targets throughout Russian-occupied Ukraine, for example disrupting supply lines, destroying command centers and other infrastructure, Haga explains.
At the same time, he emphasizes that the missile alone cannot tip the balance in Ukraine’s favour.
– But it is an important tool to reduce the effectiveness of the Russian war machine and thus make it easier for the Ukrainians to defend themselves and make it easier for them to also go on the offensive, he says.
