Ekaterina Girnyk18:48, 05/29/24

Ukraine is already receiving long-range SCALP / Storm Shadow missiles from France.

After French President Emmanuel Macron stated that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have the right to hit targets in the Russian Federation with Western weapons , the question arises of what kind of French weapons are suitable for this, except for the SCALP / Storm Shadow missiles, which Ukraine already receives from France.

Thus, Defense Express experts note that France has in its arsenal the Apache cruise missile , on the basis of which SCALP was created.

“This missile has a specific cluster warhead, which consists of 10 KRISS submunitions, each weighing 51 kg, designed to destroy runways. The KRISS can penetrate up to 30 cm of concrete, and the special feature is that it has a detonator , which can be installed with a delay in detonation,” experts note.

At the same time, they point out that the main drawback of the Apache in current conditions is the short range of use of this missile – the vast majority of sources indicate it at 140 km.

“And this is an extremely short distance, because the Millerovo airbase in the Rostov region is 155 km from the front, the Baltimore airbase near Voronezh is 175 km from the border, and the Belbek airbase near Sevastopol in the occupied Crimea is 230 km,” it says in analysis.

Another problem with the Apache is the small number of missiles produced – in total we are talking about 100 units, although the primary plan included 500. Therefore, the actual number of Apaches in combat-ready condition remains in question.

Another option, experts note, is the latest version of the Exocet MM40 Block 3 anti-ship missile , which has the declared capability of hitting ground targets and flying over land.

“This missile has a flight range of 200 km, and an active radar homing head is used to aim at the target. The weight of the high-explosive fragmentation warhead is 165 kg,” says Defense Express.

However, here there is also a problem in quantity, because Exocet MM40 Block 3 began to be delivered to the French Navy only in 2022. In addition, in its previous versions the possibility of hitting ground targets was not declared.

And the last, although, as experts note, “absolutely fantastic for Ukraine” option in the French arsenal is the Missile de Croisière Naval – MdCN cruise missile .

It was created on the basis of SCALP, but already has a range of 1000 km and a warhead weight of 250 kg and is the French analogue of the sea-based Tomahawk.

“These weapons have already been defined almost as strategic for France, especially considering their number, according to most sources, is about 200 units,” experts said.

In addition, MdCN is carried by Aquitaine-class frigates and Suffren-class submarines. Therefore, MdCN for the Armed Forces of Ukraine need to create a ground launcher with a universal Sylver A-70 launch silo.

Permission for Ukraine to use Western weapons against the Russian Federation

Already 10 EU countries have come out in favor of allowing Ukraine to use their weapons to strike Russian territory. In particular, French President Emmanuel Macron supported the supply of long-range weapons to Ukraine for attacks on the Russian Federation .

Today it became known that Canada and Finland also supported this position.

(C)UNIAN 2024