Harpoon or Storm Shadows: Britain may give long-range missiles to Ukraine

This was reported by the London-based newspaper The Times.

"Rishi Sunak promised to send more military aid to Ukraine after President Zelenskyy's visit to the UK this week. Discussions are now underway about whether this should include Harpoon or Storm Shadows air-to-surface anti-ship missiles," the report says.

In addition, sources in the Ukrainian defense ministry confirmed that Kyiv will be ready to use missiles to strike the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula after Zelenskyy's warning that long-range weapons of Western allies should be used to strike "deep into the occupied territories."

Reference

The Militarny portal notes that Harpoon is an anti-ship missile developed by McDonnell Douglas in the 1970s. Its standard version uses active radar homing and flies above the water surface to evade anti-aircraft weapons. The maximum range is 280 km.

It is also noted that there are various modifications of the airborne version: for use from surface ships, submarines, and for coastal defense.

In subsequent versions, the missile's capabilities have been expanded to hit surface and coastal targets. The Harpoon uses GPS-based inertial navigation to engage land-based targets and ships. The warhead weighing 227 kg can destroy a wide range of targets.

• On February 9 British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said that the United Kingdom would not be able to immediately deliver the aircraft to Ukraine: it could take months.

• On February 10, Ukraine’s Ambassador to the UK Vadym Prystaiko said that Ukrainian pilots are already being trained to fly Western fighters, which will be delivered in the near future.