Key Point #1 – Ukraine’s use of the British-French Storm Shadow missiles has significantly boosted its long-range strike capabilities against Russian targets, causing considerable frustration for Vladimir Putin. Originally employed within Ukraine, Storm Shadows were later approved for use against Russian territory, severely disrupting Russia’s air operations.
Key Point #2 – The missile’s precision, penetrating warhead, and substantial payload effectively target hardened facilities, runways, and air defenses.
Key Point #3 – However, due to their high cost and limited stockpile, Ukraine employs them selectively, primarily against strategic air bases. Although impactful, their limited availability means Storm Shadows alone won’t end the war, yet they remain vital to Ukraine’s defensive strategy.
Inside Ukraine’s Secret Weapon: Storm Shadows Striking Russian Bases
If Ukraine wants to push the enemy and strike deep into Russia, they depend on the British-supplied Storm Shadow missile. This long-range projectile has graced the battlefield since last November and continues to make the Russians pay for invading Ukraine. The French call the Storm Shadow the Scalp, and these monikers describe just how much death and destruction the missiles bring to bear against the enemy.
Putin Hates These Missiles
Storm Shadows were first deployed after then-President Joe Biden gave the go-ahead to use the US ATACMS against targets on the Russian side of the border last fall. Vladimir Putin was beside himself about the allied aggression and vowed to get even for the ATACMS and Storm Shadow utilization—claiming it unjustly escalated the war. Putin thinks that NATO personnel are on the ground and advising the Ukrainians when firing the missiles. He also believes that Ukraine is getting satellite targeting data from the United States.
Keep the Punishment Coming
Ukraine had launched Storm Shadows at targets inside its borders for months before Biden gave the green light to shoot long-range missile strikes into Russia. It has been a precise and dependable weapon with a large enough warhead to do significant damage.
Storm Shadows are based on a British-French design from MBDA Missile Systems. The Storm Shadow has a penetrating warhead that allows it to blow up hardened bunkers or weapons and ammunition storage sites underground.
Sequence of Attack
The missile is launched by airplanes that stay out of range of Russian air defense systems. The maximum range is 155 miles. Through GPS guidance, the Storm Shadow flies fast and low to avoid being shot down. There is a camera in the nose to help identify the target, and then it swoops down for the kill.
Ukrainians Have Adopted a Clever Technique to Conserve Storm Shadows
The downside of the Storm Shadow is its price tag. Each missile costs about $1 million. The Ukrainians have decided to hide their use by sending a barrage of swarming drones right before a Storm Shadow launch. The loitering munitions can confuse enemy radars. When the unmanned craft barrage affects a “cloaking” job, the Storm Shadow is launched. This tactic has been effective over the last few months.
Ukraine prefers to shoot the Storm Shadows at air bases, particularly targeting them to hit airstrips. This keeps the Russians from launching fighter jets equipped with deadly glide bombs.
Zelensky Wanted More Capabilities to Punish Russia
Volodymyr Zelensky called upon Storm Shadows and ATACMS to counter Russian bombing runs along the Donbas front lines. Zelensky and his generals also thought the Storm Shadows could help Ukraine keep the land it had seized in the Kursk region as Russia fought a furious counter-attack to take back territory. Zelensky has complained that his fighters were waging war without full modern capabilities.
Russia, sensing that ATACMS and Storm Shadows will be used for the entirety of the war, has been moving some of its bombers and fighters to bases further outside the range of these missiles. Russia has about 225 installations that are within the range of Storm Shadows. One can understand why the Ukrainians wanted the West to allow for long-range strikes from these missiles.
“This will make military logistics, command and control, and air support harder to deliver, and even if Russian aircraft pull back further from Ukraine’s frontiers to avoid the missile threat, they will still suffer an increase in the time and costs per sortie to the front line,” according to geopolitical risk expert Justin Crump as noted by the BBC.
The problem is that Britain really doesn’t have enough Storm Shadow missiles to supply Ukraine throughout this year. Kyiv is also pushing for more long-range artillery shells that are running dry.
Storm Shadows are unlikely to completely turn the tide of the war in 2025, but they were effective last year to keep the war in its current state. This stalemate will likely continue as President Donald Trump wants a cease-fire and a peace process immediately.
Zelensky worries that the United States will not give his country the security guarantees needed for peace. He is likely to order more Storm Shadows to take out targets in Russia to keep the battle lines as they are to negotiate in a better position.
About the Author: Dr. Brent M. Eastwood
Brent M. Eastwood, PhD is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: a Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for U.S. Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former U.S. Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.
