Ukraine has been authorized (by the US and NATO allies) to use the ATACMS and Storm Shadow long-range missiles against Russian territory. They have a range of about 300 kilometers and an estimated cost per specimen of around a million dollars. The prime targets will be North Korean troops in Kursk province.
An ATACMS missile dropped from a mobile system. Credit: wikipedia
After months of speculation on the very delicate topic of weapons usable in conflict underway against the RussiatheUkraine it finally obtained authorization from the president of the United States Joe Biden to be able to use the ATACMS (American) and Storm Shadow (European) long-range missiles against the Russian territory. For the latter, contextual consent was needed from France and the United Kingdom, as the Storm Shadows were built in collaboration between the two countries. After the approval, both types of missile have already been used to hit Russian territory: the ATACMS in the region of Bryansk and the Storm Shadows in Kursk.
These cruise missiles – with an autonomy of some hundreds of kilometers – should be used mainly in Kurskthe Russian province invaded byUkrainian army in an operation that began between 5 and 6 August and is still ongoing. The military targets to be favored will be the North Korean troops recently sent by Kim Jong-un and deployed by Putin on the battlefield, to assist the Russian army’s counteroffensive. The decision would have the aim of avoiding the sending of further soldiers by the North Korean regime – there is talk of up to 100,000 potential men – and, consequently, favoring the Ukrainian advance.
Nonetheless, the feared authorization for the use of these weapons on Russian territory has always been considered a serious escalation by Russia, considering the supplying countries as actively involved in the conflict, which has now dragged on for almost three years (and which resulted in a huge number of dead And injured on both fronts, as well as among civilians). It is no coincidence that some analysts and politicians have ventured that the green light for the use of ATACMS and Storm Shadow by the Ukrainian army on Russian territory could represent the spark to trigger the Third World War.
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“They want to start the Third World War before my father has the chance to create peace,” thundered Donald Trump Jr, the son of the newly re-elected president Donald Trump, angrily, lashing out against the decision of the current occupant of the White House Joe Biden. In light of the objectives to be prioritized and the relatively small territory on which the missiles can be launched, we may not yet be faced with an uncontrollable escalation. The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky had long been asking for the green light to use these weapons, considering them fundamental to achieving one just peace and in a relatively short time. However, in an interview with Fox News he declared that if the US cuts funding to Ukraine, his country will be destined to lose the war with Putin. According to the Ukrainian president, the end of the war would depend more on the USA than on dialogue with Putin, in reference to Donald Trump’s declarations on “peace in 24 hours”.
What ATACMS are and how they work
The MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System, acronym ATACMS, is a ballistic missile long range (300km) produced by Lockheed Martin Corporationa giant of the US aerospace and defense industry (it also produces several warplanes). As specified on the manufacturer’s website, technically it is “a conventional surface-to-surface artillery weapon system capable of hitting targets well beyond the range of existing army guns, rockets and other missiles”, adding that ATACMS missiles are launched from High Mobility Artillery Rocket System platforms (HIMARS) and Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS M270), a tracked multiple launch system. Both systems have already been supplied by the United States to Ukraine and are used on the battlefield.
Key features include an advanced satellite guidance system based on the Global Positioning System (GPS) designed for precision attacks and the detonation power, guaranteed by a head “explosive fragmentation warhead 500-pound WDU18,” approximately 230 kilograms. The most significant detail, however, lies in the range maximum, which reaches i 300 kilometers. This will allow the Ukrainian army to launch ATACMS missiles and strike deep into Russian territory by positioning the launcher systems well beyond the front lines, a significant tactical advantage. These missiles have been in service since the early 1990s and received their baptism of fire during the war in Iraqespecially at the heart of the operation Desert Storm. They weigh approximately 1,600 kilos and are 4 meters long, while their wingspan is 1.4 metres. The maximum speed is greater than MACH 3therefore it is supersonic missilesdifficult to intercept by anti-aircraft. The cost of a single specimen exceeds 1 million dollars.
The characteristics of the Storm Shadow missiles: range, power and costs
The Storm Shadows, also known as SCALP-EG (acronym for Système de Croisière Autonome à Longue Portée – Emploi Général), are long-range cruise missiles created in collaboration between France and the United Kingdom. They are produced by the European company MBDA born over twenty years ago from the merger of three large industries specialized in defense, including Alenia Marconi Systems linked to Finmeccanica. Technically, as stated on the MBDA portal, it is “a deep attack weapon, long range and using conventional weapons”. The reason lies in its superior autonomy 250 kilometerswhich similarly to ATACMS guarantees precision attacks, safely and on distant targets.
A Storm Shadow missile. Credit: Wikipedia
Unlike American missiles, however, these are weapons that are dropped by planesnot from multiple rocket launcher systems like the HIMARS. The Ukrainians use them on board Soviet bombers Sukhoi Su-24Mappropriately modified. These are not supersonic missiles, but subsonic ones, reaching the maximum speed of MACH 0.8. Their privileged targets are command centers, bunkers, ships (several have already been destroyed by these missiles in the war in Ukraine), ammunition depots and other strategic objectives. They are equipped with a penetrating charge that allows them to hit protected targets and trigger a second, very violent detonation once inside. The missiles have a weight of approximately 1,300 kilograms and a warhead of well 450 kilogramswhile the cost is around 1 million dollars for each specimen. Until now the Storm Shadows had been used on Ukrainian territory (including Crimea occupied) and against the ships of the Black Sea Fleet; now their use has also been authorized against targets in Kursk, where they have already struck.
