Reports that NATO was offering Kiev 50 SCALP missiles to take on Moscow's state-of-the-art artillery formations could be a planned "leak" seeking to bluff the Russians into believing that the quantity wasn't significant to cause collateral damage to their troops on the frontlines, a military expert has stated.
The news that the North Atlantic alliance is giving SCALP missiles to
Ukraine comes at a time when the
much-hyped counteroffensive by Kiev's forces seemed to have flopped, with Putin's army having gained the upper hand in recent battles.
With NATO allies presumably frustrated at the Ukrainian army's failure to pierce through the Russian defenses, the US and its partners have decided to send French and British-made SCALP missiles into operation in Ukraine.
The SCALP missile is the French version of the UK-made Storm Shadow, Knutov told Sputnik.
The only difference between the SCALP and Storm Shadow is their flight range, with the former having a range of approximately 300 kilometers. The export version of the French missiles has a range of approximately 250 kilometers.
"If we are talking about the combat use of these cruise missiles, then we should not forget that this is a high-precision weapon," Knutov added.
According to the defense analyst, the missile's warhead weighs over 400 kilograms and it is quite powerful. Also, there are concrete-piercing models with a special high-strength rod inside the rocket, together with the explosive, it allows one to pierce concrete ceilings up to 1.5 meters thick.
Knutov, director of the Museum of Air Defense Forces, noted the 'very high' accuracy of these projectiles.
Knutov explained that the
US-made HIMARS are unleashing rockets with a strike range of 80 km, which was not enough in the eyes of NATO war planners to exert pressure on the Russian military.
NATO member states sending missiles with a range of 300 kilometers, like the Storm Shadow, or SCALP (or, potentially, the US-made ATACMS), could pose a certain challenge to the Russian military, the expert noted.
"After our military was able to
get its hands on this cruise missile, we now have more opportunities to study it, determine the composite materials from what the body is made of, concentrate on the homing head: the frequencies at which it operates, and the principle of operation of this homing head," Knutov remarked.
He mentioned that it would allow Russia to enhance its radars and missile guidance stations to better detect stealth missiles.
Knutov reckoned that creating electronic warfare systems that will more effectively impact the homing heads of both the Storm Shadow and SCALP missiles will be made possible soon.