Kyiv, Ukraine — The United Kingdom has authorised defence company MBDA to release classified information on British components of the Storm Shadow cruise missile, clearing a key step toward licensed assembly of the weapon in Ukraine.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced the decision during his visit to Kyiv on August 24, his first international trip since taking office. The visit coincided with Ukraine’s 35th Independence Day.
Path to Local Assembly
The UK will allow MBDA to share protected information on British-made components of the SCALP-EG, the French designation for Storm Shadow. The missile uses technology developed jointly by Britain and France, making the release of British technical information necessary for the planned French-Ukrainian assembly effort.
Initial production is expected to focus on final assembly in Ukraine, rather than complete domestic manufacturing. Key components will continue to be supplied by Britain and France. The project follows a French-Ukrainian letter of intent signed in February 2026 and earlier proposals by French President Emmanuel Macron to transfer missile-production technology to Ukraine.
Ukrainian officials had also discussed plans for local production earlier in 2026. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later confirmed that Britain and France had agreed to the production arrangements.
Storm Shadow/SCALP-EG
The MBDA-produced Storm Shadow/SCALP-EG is an air-launched long-range cruise missile designed for strikes against high-value fixed and hardened targets.
The missile weighs about 1,300 kg, is 5.1 metres long and carries a 450 kg BROACH penetrating warhead. It flies at around Mach 0.95. Publicly reported specifications give a range exceeding 550 km, although MBDA's public material describes the missile's range as exceeding 250 km, reflecting differences in publicly disclosed versions and configurations.
Its navigation system combines inertial navigation, satellite data and terrain-profile matching. An imaging infrared seeker is used during the final stage to identify the target.
Storm Shadow was developed in the 1990s and entered service in 2003. Production restarted in 2025 with a modified version after a long production pause.
Ukraine's Use of the Missile
Ukraine has operated Storm Shadow and SCALP-EG missiles since spring 2023, following deliveries from Britain, France and Italy. The weapons were initially used against Russian forces in occupied Ukrainian territory and have subsequently been used against targets inside Russia.
Local assembly would give Ukraine an additional domestic source of the long-range cruise missile while reducing reliance on deliveries of fully assembled weapons. Ukrainian industry does not currently produce a system with comparable range and precision.
The UK decision also complements Project Brakestop, a separate British programme focused on developing lower-cost, advanced long-range strike weapons for Ukraine.
During Burnham’s Kyiv visit, Britain and Ukraine also agreed on a broader defence and artificial-intelligence partnership that gives the UK access to Ukraine’s Avengers AI Labs.
The release of the classified information clears the way for the planned assembly programme, while the timing and production volume will depend on establishing the required manufacturing infrastructure and supply arrangements.
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