Victory's Arsenal: Stones from the Sky

The significant advantage of the Russians in personnel and weaponry, particularly in missiles, was the primary reason for Ukraine's loss of substantial territories at the onset of the war. Everything Ukrainians could counterpose against Russian 'Calibers,' 'Iskanders,' 'Kinzhals' were outdated Soviet tactical systems like the 'Tochka-U,' and possibly only one division of the anti-ship missile system 'Neptune.' Although Ukraine had been developing the 'Grom-2' ballistic missile system with a prospective range of up to 500 km since 2013, its fate by the second year of the war remains undetermined. Therefore, from the very beginning of the conflict, acquiring 'long-arm' weaponry became the cornerstone of the country's negotiation position in military-political relations with its partners.

Not in vain summarizing the first stage of the war in October 2022, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valeriy Zaluzhny, wrote: 

'The scenario could drastically change with proper planning and correct work with Ukraine's partner countries. A comprehensive, forward-looking equipping and re-equipping of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with weapons of corresponding operational ranges should become that dreamed-of game-changer.'

He cautiously hinted that the shifting of the war into the depths of Russia's territory, thanks to long-range strikes, would compel Russia to reconsider the nature, course, and outcome of the confrontation differently. However, these desires conflicted with the West's cautious position, which feared greater escalation and took Moscow's threats of using more powerful weaponry seriously, unfortunately.

In May of the previous year, US President Joe Biden categorically ruled out the possibility of transferring missile systems to Ukraine that would allow strikes on Russian territory. Primarily, this referred to the ATACMS ballistic missiles that could be launched from the HIMARS platform, whose transfer happened shortly after. Yet, the successes in liberating parts of the occupied territories in the Kharkiv and Kherson regions in the fall of the same year allowed the Ukrainian side to raise this issue again. Kyiv assured that there was no risk since the same HIMARS had not been used to strike Russian territory, although the opportunity existed.

President Volodymyr Zelensky directly conveyed this position to his American counterpart during an official visit to Washington in September 2022, and according to unnamed US officials, the latter even agreed. However, officially, the resolution of the matter was not confirmed. Although there were occasional rumors of some progress on this track over the following year, the actual transfer of this type of missiles to the Ukrainian Defense Forces only happened in the fall, after an overall unsuccessful counteroffensive campaign for the Ukrainians.

One of the significant reasons for this failure, alongside Russia's well-constructed layered defense, was the significant advantage of Russians in the air. To deter the advancement, the occupying forces actively and almost with impunity employed army aviation, the bases of which were beyond the reach of available Ukrainian means of attack. Therefore, it was entirely logical that the primary targets for the ATACMS in Ukraine became the enemy's airfields in Berdyansk and Luhansk. As a result of the 'Dragonfly' operation on October 17 this year, using the cassette variant of ATACMS MGM-140A Block 1, 9 combat helicopters—7 Ka-52s and 2 Mi-8s—were destroyed, and 15 were damaged—8 Ka-52s and 7 Mi-8s, which, according to experts' estimates, comprised nearly 11% of the entire Russian army aviation fleet on the eve of the invasion.

Within a week, Ukrainian missile units, presumably using American ballistic missiles, successfully hit enemy targets, including the valuable S-400 air defense system in the Luhansk region and elements of the air defense system in the northwestern part of the occupied Crimea. Thus, Ukrainians once again proved their ability to maximally effectively use the weaponry provided by allies while adhering to restrictive conditions.

ATACMS

ATACMS stands for the family of tactical ballistic missiles manufactured by the American company Lockheed Martin. They are designed to strike precise targets such as command centers, airfields, air defense objects, and logistical facilities far behind the front lines.

The launch platforms for ATACMS include the M270 MLRS (2 missiles) and the M142 HIMARS (1 missile). The weight of the missile system ranges from 1600 to 2300 kg, depending on the specific variant.

ATACMS can reach speeds of approximately Mach 3, or around 3700 km/h. Depending on the missile's modification, they can strike targets from distances ranging between 140 to 300 km.

Photo: The ATACMS Capabilities. Source: Infographic The Gaze/Leonid Lukashenko.

The missile follows a semi-ballistic trajectory, initiating its flight with a pre-programmed, rigid trajectory. The subsequent flight occurs in a guided mode. During the final phase of flight, the missile accelerates, aiding in targeting fortified objectives, including underground bunkers.

The missile is guided using aerodynamic wings, receiving signals from an onboard control system, constantly determining the projected impact point and issuing commands for targeting corrections. Thanks to advanced navigation systems utilizing a combination of global positioning systems and inertial navigation, the deviation error from the target is merely 10 meters.

The ATACMS missile family utilizes two types of warheads: fragmentation-high explosive and cassette. The cassette payload can contain either 275 or 950 submunitions or 13 or 6 self-guided elements, the latter intended for armored targets.

The exact number of ATACMS received by Ukraine remains unknown (sources on Capitol Hill hinted at approximately 20 units), as well as the quantity of missiles remaining in its possession. However, in October, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, stated that the USA would supply Ukraine with more of these missiles on a continuous basis. He expressed hope that in the future, Ukraine would receive ATACMS capable of striking targets at a distance of 300 km.

Storm Shadow

Another powerful long-range weapon Ukraine received from the United Kingdom and France, successfully employed on the battlefield, is the Storm Shadow/SCALP EG air-launched cruise missile. Through collaboration with British engineers, these missiles were integrated into Ukrainian Su-24 bombers, equipped with pylons from retired British Panavia Tornado aircraft. The first usage by Ukrainians of this munition dates back to early May of this year.

With this precision missile, the Ukrainian Defense Forces targeted numerous critical military and infrastructural enemy assets. Particularly notable was its substantial disruption of logistics between occupied Crimea and mainland Ukraine during the summer counteroffensive. However, among the most striking Storm Shadow attacks were those on the dry docks of the Sevastopol Shipyard and the strike against the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

As a result, the former suffered critical damage, impacting the large landing ship "Minsk" and the carrier of "Kalibr" missiles, the submarine "Rostov-on-Don" (incidentally, the first instance in history of this type of weapon striking a submarine). The latter dealt an irreparable blow to the reputation of Russian air defense in Crimea and marked the relocation point of the Black Sea Fleet from Sevastopol to Novorossiysk. Storm Shadow/SCALP EG became a significant problem for the Russians, evident in their repeated attempts to attack the likely base of Ukrainian Su-24s in Starokostiantyniv (Khmelnytskyi Oblast).

Storm Shadow/SCALP EG is a Franco-British air-launched cruise missile of the "air-to-ground" class. It is designed to destroy important stationary targets well-protected by air defense systems. It can be used at any time, in challenging weather conditions, and against adversary electronic countermeasures. The manufacturer claims the operational range of the base version of the Storm Shadow missile to be around 250 km.

The stealth missile can fly at low altitudes of 40-60 m, and by mimicking terrain features, it remains inconspicuous even to deeply layered enemy air defenses.

The missile is programmed before its combat launch, and its application follows a "fire-and-forget" principle. The munition employs an advanced guidance system, comprising not only inertial and GPS navigation but also terrain recognition technology. As it approaches the designated target, the missile's thermal imaging seeker activates, identifying the programmed target.

The missile's 450 kg warhead is tandem, of the BROACH type. During the approach to the target, a sub-projectile is launched, creating an opening for the primary warhead to penetrate and detonate inside the target with a certain delay (the delay degree depends on the target's characteristics).

Photo: The Storm Shadow/SCALP EG Capabilities. Source: Infographic The Gaze/Leonid Lukashenko.

ATACMS and Storm Shadow/SCALP EG are not the sole modern missile systems provided to Ukraine by its allies. Noteworthy are the British-supplied Brimstone missiles (with Wolfram launchers), anti-radiation missiles (NARM) integrated into Ukrainian MiG-29s, significantly disrupting Russian surveillance electronics. Finally, the coastal missile system Harpoon, which played a role in liberating Snake Island and currently contributes to the functionality of the "grain corridor."

Ukraine still awaits the promised planning bombs GLSDB from the United States, with a radius of 150 km, usable on HIMARS and M270 systems. Ongoing (yet thus far unsuccessful) negotiations with the German government aim to acquire a more powerful German counterpart to Storm Shadow – the Taurus missile.

All of this provides hope for a substantial reinforcement of Ukraine's long-range capabilities, which, by disrupting logistics and delivering precise targeted strikes, will undermine the Russian military machine and, consequently, thwart the plans of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to win the war of attrition.

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Earlier, The Gaze covered reactive artillery and artillery systems supplied by the anti-Putin coalition countries, as well as anti-tank missile complexes that aided the Ukrainian Armed Forces in halting Russian troops near Kyiv in spring 2022. We also explored the "armored fist" of the Ukrainian army – tanks and other armored vehicles provided by Western partners. Additionally, read our articles about light and heavy air defense systems safeguarding Ukrainian cities and "drone killers".