Storm Shadow

Storm Shadow is an Anglo-French air-launched cruise missile developed jointly by MBDA and first fielded in 2003 during the Iraq War. Designated SCALP-EG in French service, it carries a 450 kg BROACH warhead to ranges exceeding 250 km, enabling strikes well behind front lines. Its two-stage warhead and terrain-hugging flight profile are designed to defeat short-range air defences and penetrate hardened structures.

Ukraine has used Storm Shadow as a primary deep-strike tool against Russian military infrastructure. On 10 March 2026, Ukrainian forces struck the Kremniy El microelectronics plant in Bryansk, one of Russia's largest military chip manufacturers producing components for Iskander guidance systems and Pantsir air defences; six were killed and 42 wounded across seven impacts. The campaign also degraded S-400, Buk-M3, and Tor launchers across Crimea and southern oblasts.

Storm Shadow's transfer to Ukraine broke a long-standing Western taboo on long-range strike weapons, and continued use depends on British and French political will. Whether Ukraine can degrade Russian industrial and air-defence capacity faster than Moscow adapts its hardening doctrine remains the central strategic question.