Storm Shadow Missiles: What did Ukraine allegedly use on targets in Russia?

On November 20th, the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that Ukraine fired the first Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles at targets within Russian territory. Let’s take a look at these weapons and why they’re being used against Russia now. 

"Air defenses shot down two Storm Shadow cruise missiles manufactured by Britain, six HIMARS rockets manufactured by the USA and 67 unmanned aerial vehicles of the aircraft type," the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on November 21st according to Reuters.

Reuters revealed that the strikes were widely reported by Russian war correspondents on the social media platform Telegram. The news organization spoke with an unnamed official who confirmed the reports about the Storm Shadow strike was real. 

Up to twelve Storm Shadow missiles were allegedly fired into the Kursk region of Russia according to Russian war correspondents. This an area of Russia that Ukraine launched an invasion into on August 6th and its troops are still holding a vast swath of territory.  

News of the strike came just days after the first Ukrainian use of the American-made MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) following Joe Biden's approval of their use against targets inside of Kursk Oblast. 

Shortly after news broke that Biden gave Ukraine permission to use U.S. long-range missiles inside of Russian territory, the French daily newspaper Le Figaro reported that France and Britain permitted Ukraine to use their long-range missiles in Ukraine as well. 

The British Storm Shadow Missile is a joint Anglo-French project that is produced by the European defense manufacturer MBDA. The French version of the long-range missile is referred to as Scalp, but it is essentially the same weapon as its British counterpart.  

The Storm Shadow missile has a range in excess of 250 kilometers or about 155 miles according to MBDA, and it has been used in conflicts around the world that range from Africa to the Middle East. 

One of the most important features of the Storm Shadow is its deep strike capabilities, which can allow military planners to use it for “pre-planned attacks against high-value fixed stationary targets,” according to MBDA. 

“They have been used with great effect, hitting Russia’s Black Sea naval headquarters at Sevastopol and making the whole of Crimea unsafe for the Russian navy,” BBC News correspondent Frank Garnder explained. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Halifers, Own Work, CC BY-SA 4.0

Gardner reported that each missile costs roughly one million dollars so they tend to be used in combination with other aerial assets like drones ahead of time to confuse and exhaust enemy air defenses to improve the missile's success. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Rept0n1x, Own Work, CC BY-SA 3.0

The Storm Shadow is an air-launched long-range cruise missile, which means it’s fired from an aircraft and then makes its way to its target flying close to the speed of sound while hugging the terrain before it drops down onto its target and detonates.  

Gardner noted the Storm Shadow was “considered an ideal weapon for penetrating hardened bunkers and ammunition stores, such as those used by Russia in its war against Ukraine.”

Military analyst, former British Army officer, and CEO of the Sibylline consultancy group told BBC News that the Storm Shadow missile has already been used to great effect by Ukraine and has been used for precise strikes against well-protected targets.

"It’s no surprise that Kyiv has lobbied for its use inside Russia, particularly to target airfields being used to mount the glide bomb attacks that have recently hindered Ukrainian front-line efforts," Crump explained. 

As of November 21st, CNN noted that Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov has refused to confirm or deny if any British Storm Shadow or French Scalp long-range missiles were used in an attack against targets in Russia. 

When asked about the claims, Umerov Ukraine was “using all the means to defend our country, so we’ll not go into detail. But we are just sending that we are capable and able to respond… We’ll be defending and giving punches back… with all the means available.”

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