The missiles from Britain and France are proving to be a “game changer” in Ukraine. The advantage would be even greater with the German Taurus missiles.
Kiev/Berlin – Since May 2023, the Ukrainian armed forces have had highly effective western long-range missiles at their disposal. The British “Storm Shadow” cruise missiles, with their long range of up to 250 kilometers, are a “real game changer” in the war against Russia, a high-ranking US military told the news channel at the time CNN. The following July, France also delivered its “SCALP” missiles, which are almost identical in construction, to Ukraine. Both models are a joint British-French project developed and put into service in the 2000’s.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had already announced in February that he would be supplying “extended range weapons” to the invaded Ukraine. “We have decided to supply new missiles that will allow Ukraine to strike at depth,” French President Emmanuel Macron said in July about the decision to supply Kiev with “SCALP” missiles. And these “blows in the depths” are already putting Russia under severe pressure in the Ukraine war, as US military blogger David Ax reported yesterday (August 8). forbes reported.
Western long-range missiles: “Game changer” for Ukraine’s only bomber regiment
As early as mid-May, Russia confirmed the first attacks by Ukraine with the British “Storm Shadows”. Since then, the pilots of the 7th Tactical Aviation Brigade, the only bomber regiment in the Ukrainian Air Force, have been steadily conducting airstrikes against Russian targets in the occupied parts of the country deep behind the front lines. The regiment’s Soviet-era Sukhoi Su-24 supersonic bombers were armed by Ukrainian and Western technicians with long-range missiles supplied from France and Britain. Each bomber now carries two of these missiles.
Previously, the Sukhoi Su-24 only dropped unguided gravity bombs on enemy positions – not particularly accurate weapons, with no significant range. With the addition of the Storm Shadow and SCALP missiles, the efficiency of this bomber regiment has increased massively. Suddenly, pilots no longer had to fly over a heavily defended target to bomb it. Instead, they can now release their explosive cargo from the relative safety of Ukrainian-controlled airspace and still hit targets far behind the front lines.
The western guided missiles are highly precise and very difficult for enemy radar to detect because they fly at an altitude of less than 50 meters. Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said on Ukrainian television in May that the British “Storm Shadow” hit rate was 100 percent. The Russians don’t have much to counter that.
Ukraine War: Russians desperately try to take out Ukrainian bombers
The air strikes of the air brigade play a key role in the attempt to isolate Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014. Ukraine’s goal is to disrupt vital supply routes. It could also succeed with the western cruise missiles, since these are available in sufficiently large numbers. “This gives Ukraine the ability to make Crimea untenable for Russian forces,” ex-General Ben Hodges, former commander-in-chief of the US Army Europe, wrote on Twitter in May.
In principle, the German “Taurus” rockets (unit price: 950,000 euros) are very similar to their British-French counterparts, writes Ax. The main difference lies in the drive system. The modern turbofan engine of the Taurus makes the German cruise missiles of comparable size and payload more efficient, which significantly increases the range. The Bundeswehr puts it at around 500 kilometers – a good twice as far as the range of the “SCALP” and the “Storm Shadow”, which are equipped with a less efficient turbine jet engine. The Bundeswehr is said to have over 600 Taurus systems, around 150 of which are said to be operational.
It is the significantly longer range that would mean another “game changer” on the front lines of the Ukraine war. With the Taurus, Ukraine’s only bomber brigade would have even more leeway to corner the Russian invasion forces. The bombers could operate at an even greater and therefore safer distance. Possibly so far from the front line that not even the S-400 surface-to-air missile system could reach them. It is Russia’s longest-range air defense system.
German politicians are skeptical about a delivery of Taurus missiles – for now
Alternatively, the Ukrainian bombers could reach targets even deeper behind enemy lines with the same risk as before. Even targets in the strategically important southern Crimea could become achievable. They cannot be reached with the long-range missiles from France and Great Britain – at least not without running a considerable risk of being shot down by Russian air defenses.
Ukrainian bombers armed with long-range Taurus missiles could become a significant problem for the Russian military leadership. But whether it gets that far depends on German politics. Kiev has been asking for the “Taurus” for months, but Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius continue to refuse the delivery of German cruise missiles to Ukraine.
The reason given is that there is a risk of escalation. With the “Taurus” it is more likely that the Ukrainians will attack Russian territory with western weapons. You want to avoid that at all costs. Due to similar concerns, Kiev had to guarantee the British that the “Storm Shadow” would only be used within the internationally recognized borders of Ukraine, i.e. in the areas illegally occupied by Russia. However, voices are now being raised within the SPD Chancellor’s Party that support the delivery of the “Taurus” to the Ukraine, or at least do not want to categorically rule it out. (Robert Wagner)
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