How will the Ukrainian air force fire the UK-delivered long-range Storm Shadow missiles? This weaponry was designed to be fired by Western fighter planes, while kyiv still only has Russian and Soviet planes.
The mystery was cleared up by a tweet from the “Ukraine Weapons Tracker” collective, discovered by the specialized site Opex360. To carry these missiles, kyiv reportedly modified a Su-24MR “Yellow 60” from the 7th Tactical Aviation Brigade.
Modified Su-27 flankers
The message posted on social media posts a photo showing this device armed with a Storm Shadow. The image bears a handwritten message from UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace.
This photo was posted by Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov on the occasion of Ben Wallace’s visit to kyiv on May 24.
“We had a very significant discussion focused on the priorities to increase Ukraine’s defense capabilities, in particular the supply of long-range weapons like Storm Shadow,” Oleksii Reznikov said, adding that the discussions also related to Ukraine’s membership in NATO.
According to Opex360, “it is also not impossible that the Su-27 Flankers have also been modified to fire Storm Shadows.”
This stealth missile produced by MBDA has a range of 250 or 500 kilometers depending on the version. Travel at over 1,000 km/h (Mach 0.80) just 30 meters above sea level to avoid radar detection. Its flight path is guided by GPS. Arrived above his goal, he dives to reach it.
Despite these actions, the Russian army would have managed to destroy one according to the images released by Moscow.
Source: BFM TV
