Britain will send the world's most advanced anti-aircraft missile system to Ukraine

 

Britain will send the world's most advanced anti-aircraft missile system to Ukraine

The British Defense Secretary announced that Britain is determined to send the most advanced anti-aircraft missile system in the world to Ukraine.

Ben Wallace told MPs on Wednesday that he is looking to provide Starstreak high-speed missile systems to the Ukrainians, increasing British military assistance to Kyiv.

Designed to destroy fighter planes and helicopters, the Starstreak is the world's fastest short-range surface-to-air missile, traveling at over Mach 3.

The missile uses three arrow-like projectiles that allow multiple hits on the target. It can be fired from the shoulder, a lightweight multiple launcher, or armored vehicles.

Previous versions of the system, made by Belfast defense company Thales, were deployed above the tallest towers of the 2012 London Olympics, a move that has sparked some concern among residents.

Military officials hope the missile, which Wallace called "defensive" killer assistance, will help Ukraine control the skies and further erode Russia's fighter and helicopter fleets.

Once launched, the rocket carrying the three arrows uses a small charge to blast it away from the launch tube. This engine cuts off before the missile leaves the line to prevent operator injury.

About four meters from the soldier firing the weapon, the second booster fires to accelerate the missile to more than Mach 3 rapidly.

The missile rests on the target and is intended to have two "coated" laser beams on board by the launch module. All a soldier firing a weapon has to do is keep the target in sight.

The kinetic energy generated from traveling at this speed will destroy most targets. Still, to ensure destruction, each arrow contains a 0.9kg delayed blast fragmentation warhead that explodes inside the aircraft. Such missiles. "As the conflict intensifies, the Russians change their tactics, so the Ukrainians need that as well," he said.

"We can all see the horrific destruction of civilian areas by Russian artillery and airstrikes, which were indiscriminate and lethal. Therefore, Ukraine must maintain its ability to fly and quell the Russian air attack."

Emphasizing that the international community had already given man-portable air defense missiles, he said the capacity of Ukrainian forces "needs to be strengthened."

Following requests for more help from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Wallace said the introduction of Starstreak "will allow Ukrainian forces to defend their skies better."

He sought to characterize the arms supplies as defensive and tactical to avoid giving Vladimir Putin an excuse to refer again to the potential use of nuclear weapons.

"Everything we do is linked to the decision to supply defense systems and [is] calibrated so that it does not escalate to the strategic level," the defense minister said.

However, in another sign that London was increasing the support it was preparing to provide, he announced that Britain would send a "small shipment" of Javelin missiles to Ukraine.

The United States and Estonia have already supplied Kyiv with infrared-guided anti-tank munitions. Ukraine sent various weapons targeting tanks from the West, including Panzerfaust 3 anti-tank weapons from the Netherlands and AT4 anti-missile launchers from Sweden.

This includes 1,615 next-generation light weapons known as "NLAWs," as well as 2,000 missiles sent before the invasion of Moscow.