Storm Shadow Missile:
British-made Storm Shadow missiles were recently used in a Ukrainian strike that damaged a Russian submarine and ship at a major naval port in Crimea.
- Storm Shadow Missile is a long-range cruise missile with stealth capabilities jointly developed by the UK and France.
- The missile is intended to strike high-value stationary assets such as airbases, radar installations, communications hubs and port facilities.
- Able to be operated in extreme conditions, the weapon offers operators a highly flexible, deep-strike capability based on a sophisticated mission planning system.
- The Storm Shadow is also in service with the air forces of Egypt, India, Italy, Greece, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
- It is typically launched from the air.
- The missile weighs 1.3 tonnes and is just over 5m long.
- Powered by a turbo-jet engine, the missile travels at speeds of more than 600mph.
- It carries a 450kg conventional warhead to a range of up to 200 miles (300km).
- It is equipped with fire-and-forget technology and fully autonomous guidance.
- The missile is fitted with a passive imaging infrared seeker.
- The missile is programmed with every detail of the target and the path to be taken to reach the target prior to its launch.
- Once launched, the missile drops to a low altitude to avoid detection by enemy radar before latching onto its target with the infrared seeker.
