MOSCOW, May 11. /TASS/. Russian missile systems proved in Syria that they can destroy the Storm Shadow missiles that London is now providing to Kiev, editor of the Arsenal Otechestva magazine Alexey Leonkov told TASS on Thursday.
British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace confirmed earlier on Thursday that London was sending long-range Storm Shadow cruise missiles to Kiev. According to him, the missiles have a range of 250-300 kilometers.
Leonkov pointed out that the Storm Shadow was an anti-ship missile also capable of hitting ground targets. It was developed as an Anglo-French alternative to the US-made Tomahawk.
"Our missile systems first faced them during an attack on Damascus on April 14, 2018. Those missiles were downed then," the expert noted. "The technology that the missile is based on is called ‘fire-and-forget:’ it follows the route that is laid for it. The route cannot be changed, nor can the missile be programmed to self-destruct. It reaches its target and hits it. However, our Buk and Tor systems deployed in Syria detected and downed it," Leonkov said.
At the same time, the expert emphasized that the missile was capable of reaching speeds of up to 800 kilometers per hour and conducting stealth and low-altitude flights, for example, along the edge of a forest. "I think that the flights of all Ukrainian drones that managed to reach the Kaluga and Ryazan regions, those which we shot down, were aimed at testing the routes. If this missile is fired along the same route, the threat will grow significantly," the expert explained, stressing that "missile systems aren’t all-powerful and cannot scan forests and surrounding areas."
The Storm Shadow is a long-range, air-launched cruise missile, jointly developed by the UK and France. Its operational range exceeds 250 kilometers.