MBDA Storm Shadow

Storm Shadow is a Conventionally Armed Stand-Off Cruise Missile (CASOM). It is a high precision weapon which can be utilised both day and in almost all weather and operational conditions. Its primary use will be to attack high value, heavily protected targets or those deep inside enemy airspace reducing the risk to the delivery aircraft.

The British requirement for an air launched stand off missile was under consideration for many years. A number of sucessive administrations deliberated not only on the type and specification required but also what fundamental role it was to have, ie. nuclear or conventional strike. That final question was answered in the early 1990's with the end of the Cold War, resulting in the launch of SR(A)-1236 for a Conventionally Armed Stand Off Missile, CASOM. The subsequent contract was finally awarded in February 1997 to Matra-BAe Dynamics after an international competition involving several different missiles including the European TAURUS, an advanced Isralie Popeye and U.S. Tomahawk variant. Matra's solution, Storm Shadow was a conventionally armed stealthy system with a range enabling a tactically useful stand off launch capability.

The system is based on the flight-proven French Apache air vehicle and is optimised to meet UK requirements. The Apache missile programme, originally intended as a Franco-German project had been designed for ground attack, with a submunition dispenser allowing air field denial strikes and a secondary role of precision strike using a single warhead. In 1988 Germany withdrew to pursue the Taurus missile after a number of problems involving pricing, delivery and differences in requirements. Following the British selection of Storm Shadow, France selected a system based heavily on its design called SCALP-EG also from BAe Dynamics and Matra. This followed the 1996 merger between British Aerospace Dynamics and Matra Defence. This resulted in the two projects, Storm Shadow and SCALP EG being combined under a single project team. The two systems are now virtually the same missile with a commonality approaching 99%.

Although Storm Shadow is derived from the Apache missile several modifications were required to meet the RAF CASOM requirements:

The weapon design can effectively be divided into three sections. The front section houses a discardable nose cone concealing and protecting an Imaging Infra Red sensor used for final target aquisition, weapon controller, radar altimeter and IMU. The middle section contains the multi-stage warhead (which for Storm Shadow will comprise the BROACH and the follow-on main charge), GPS antenna, wings and wing opening mechanisms, separation sensor and aircraft interfaces, SAU and centre section fuel tank. The rear section comprises almost entirely of the TRI 60-30 turbofan engine. The vertical control surfaces and ventral stabilisers are also mounted at this point. The missile was designed from the outset to have an extremely small radar and IR cross section reducing the chances of its detection, or should that still happen, its loss to guided anti-aircraft artillery or anti-missile missile.

Unlike Apache which is designed for the anti-runway role, Storm Shadow will be utilised against hardened targets. To enhance its capabilities in this role a newly developed warhead precursor will be fitted, Called BROACH (Bomb Royal Ordnance Augmenting CHarge). This is a multi-warhead system that combines an initial penetrator charge (warhead) with a secondary follow-through bomb, supported by multi-event hard target fuzing. In trials BROACH has been shown under equal conditions to penetrate and destroy reinforced concrete structures more than twice as thick as those destroyed using equivalent single penetrating warhead types.

Storm Shadow can be used in a variety of ways. A typical attack will begin back at base where the missiles route to target can be precisely planned allowing enemy air defences to be circumvented. This data can then be uploaded to the weapon before launch. Once airborne the weapon can rely on its own INS and GPS systems to determine its position or use data from the aircraft. The missile can be launched from both low and medium altitudes and within a large area surrounding the pre-programmed drop zone. Once separated from the aircraft the wings deploy and missile drops to its extremely low cruising altitude using TERPROM and the radar altimeter. At the same time it determines its position using INS, GPS and again, TERPROM allowing course corrections to be made to ensure it remains on the required path.

During its final approach to the intended target the missile will pop-up and jettison its nose cone allowing the high resolution imaging infra-red sensor to scan for its target. Utilising image processing techniques the high resolution sensor enables the missile to obtain a true view of the intended target area. All though this terminal phase, imaging data is continually compared to the target until an exact point of impact is identified and the correct angle of attack is achieved. If the missile fails to find its target and the chance of undesired collateral damage is high the missile can be programmed to abort and fly to either a safe area or secondary target.

On impact the BRAOCH warhead first detonates producing a superheated jet of plasma. The secondary charge is then free to travel through the hole produced and is detonated after a suitable delay.

At the present time Storm Shadow is to be deployed on RAF Tornado GR.4's, Harrier GR.7's and in time, the Eurofighter. In French service the SCALP EG will be deployed on Mirage 2000-D's, Mirage 2000-5's and eventually the Rafale. So far the United Kingdom, France, Italy (Storm Shadow) and Greece (SCALP EG) have signed contracts for more than 1,400 Storm Shadow's/SCALP EG's. The intended program schedule is:

The webmasters would like to express their thanks to Matra-BAe Dynamics Ltd, Stevenage, UK for providing the information and material on the Storm Shadow/SCALP EG.

* : Note that all ranges quoted are based on mean figures from various data sources. Actual achievable range will depend on a great number of factors and may be no where near those quoted.

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