UK Unveils Three Prototype Long-Range Missiles

Reference News Network, June 24 According to a report from the Financial Times website on June 19, the British government has publicly announced three prototypes of long-range strike missiles specifically for use by the Ukrainian military in operations against Russia. A key feature of this batch of low-cost weapons is that they do not contain any American components. The UK Ministry of Defence stated that these three missile systems were developed by three domestic British companies: the European Missile Group UK, MGI Engineering, and Rotron Aerospace. The three products completed multiple test launches this spring.

A British government official revealed that this project, named the "Braking Program," will continue test launches throughout the year, with one or more of the missiles expected to be delivered to Kyiv by the end of the year.

The relevant companies stated that, according to the development requirements of the UK Ministry of Defence, this batch of missiles will completely avoid the use of American-made components, aiming to circumvent Washington's intervention in weapon exports and usage. Another British official indicated that the intention behind developing these missiles is to "give the UK maximum autonomy in terms of military aid to Ukraine."

The missile project was officially launched in November 2024. Prior to that, due to concerns about escalating the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the United States had temporarily delayed the delivery of Army Tactical Missile Systems and the UK's Storm Shadow cruise missiles to Ukraine, and had not authorized Ukraine to use these weapons to strike deep targets within Russia.

This British official stated that starting from the end of 2024, the Storm Shadow missile, which relies on American-made components (such as guidance systems) and mapping data, has frequently faced deployment issues.

To avoid being constrained by the U.S., the "Scourge" cruise missile developed by the European Missile Group UK is equipped with a self-developed visual navigation system and does not contain any American components.

Meanwhile, the model developed by MGI Engineering uses a similar navigation system developed by the German-American joint venture, Oterion, which has confirmed that its equipment and data do not originate from the United States.

Although the U.S. and UK have never publicly confirmed that the U.S. has obstructed the use of long-range missiles, Ukrainian officials, including President Zelensky, have publicly complained about this.

Russian President Putin previously stated that if Western countries allow Ukraine to use long-range weapons to strike deep into Russian territory, it would be equivalent to NATO countries directly going to war with Russia. Since the end of 2024, breaking free from U.S. control over long-range strike weapons has become a top priority for Ukraine. Ukrainian domestic companies have begun developing long-range attack drones and cruise missiles that are not subject to U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations, such as the FP-2 and FP-5 equipment launched by Kyiv's "Flame Point" company.

Looking across Europe, given that the U.S. under Trump no longer views Europe as a strategic focus, many defense companies have recently accelerated the development of "zero American content" weapons and supporting systems.

In addition to avoiding delays in actual combat deployment, the mass production scale of the "Braking Program" series of missiles will far exceed that of the Storm Shadow. The latter requires a large number of specialized components, with a single production cycle lasting several months. The UK Ministry of Defence has explicitly requested that the "Braking Program" missiles achieve a monthly production of 20 units, with a unit cost of approximately £400,000 excluding the warhead, a cost significantly lower than most traditional long-range strike munitions. This series of missiles is equipped with a standard 225 kg warhead, while the more advanced Storm Shadow carries a 450 kg warhead.

The European Missile Group stated that it is collaborating with companies across the UK and Europe to advance the development of the "Scourge" cruise missile. This missile features a modular design and can achieve large-scale rapid production using a large number of military and commercial off-the-shelf components.

Rotron Aerospace has designed a propeller-driven version of the missile, sacrificing some flight speed for greater range.

MGI Engineering has applied cutting-edge technology from the Formula One racing field to its self-developed "Tiger Shark" missile, using advanced composite materials to enhance the missile's range and payload capacity. (Translated by Zhu Li)