In 2023, the UK and France announced that they would supply Ukraine with the MBDA SCALP air-launched cruise missile (ALCM).
Analysts believed the transfer of the SCALP was a bid on London and Paris’ parts to give Kyiv long-range, precision-strike capabilities, especially as it initiated its counteroffensive. Both British and French-supplied SCALPs were in Ukraine by July 2023.
Since inducting the SCALP, Ukraine has used the cruise missile at various points in the conflict, with a particular focus on bridges (as a means to interfere with the logistics links feeding Russia’s frontlines in Ukraine).
Like the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), the SCALP has become one of many offensive and defensive weapon systems (such as surface-to-air missiles, cluster warheads, and loitering munitions) that have been integral to Ukraine’s war effort.
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