According to Bloomberg, the United Kingdom will soon begin testing its budget long-range missiles — which the Ukrainian Defense Forces could receive if everything goes well.
Points of attention
- The absence of American components in the new missile systems reduces the risk of potential restrictions from the US and enhances the UK's strategic autonomy in decision-making.
- Although not designed to penetrate fortified concrete bunkers, the 225-kilogram warhead of the new missiles can still deliver significant damage to various targets.
British long-range missiles — what is known about them
As journalists have learned, developers in the UK are actively working on creating relatively cheap long-range missiles that will not depend on American components or data.
These processes involve companies such as MBDA, MGI Engineering and Rotron Aerospace, and are planned to be tested in the UK and Ukraine in the coming months.
According to preliminary data, approximately a year after the completion of the tests, London will be able to supply these missiles to the Ukrainian Defense Forces.
The project started at the end of 2024, and later the pace of development accelerated significantly.
The new missiles will still be inferior to Storm Shadow/SCALP in accuracy and power, but their cost will be about half that.
What is important to understand is that one Storm Shadow missile costs about a million dollars.
An important feature of the new systems will be the complete absence of American components. This will allow the UK to make its own decisions about their use without the risk of possible restrictions from the US.
Although the new missiles will not be able to effectively hit fortified concrete bunkers, their 225-kilogram warhead is still capable of inflicting significant damage to targets.
