Alexandre Chauveau / Photo credit: GUILLAUME SOUVANT / AFP
Emmanuel Macron announced on Tuesday the delivery of SCALP missiles to Ukraine during the NATO summit in Vilnius. Acronym for “conventional autonomous long-range cruise system”, these machines allow in particular strikes of great precision. A real technological gem that the Head of State delivers to kyiv.
The first long-range SCALP missiles, delivered by France to Ukraine, arrived on Ukrainian territory on Tuesday. “Given the situation and the counter-offensive that is being led by Ukraine, I have taken the decision to increase the delivery of arms and equipment to the Ukrainians, in accordance with the commitments we have made with them. “, said Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday.
A high precision weapon…
A cruise missile launched from a fighter plane and developed by France and the United Kingdom, the SCALP can strike up to 500 kilometers, beyond the front line. An asset for kyiv which could thus access the areas of eastern Ukraine, now controlled by the Russians. But it is above all a very high precision weapon, capable of reaching a target in depth and avoiding collateral damage.
France would have less than 400, a hundred less than in the early 2000s. Several of them were indeed fired in 2011 in Libya or later in Syria to target targets of the Islamic State.
…with an expiry date
If we do not know the exact number of missiles delivered, Paris speaks of a significant number which would nevertheless preserve the stocks necessary for the French defense. Another characteristic is the expiry date of these missiles, which would only be a few years. A military source indicates that France would therefore have delivered to kyiv the SCALPs on the way to reaching their limit of use to fire them rather than lose them.