Britain has announced it will hand over a new air defense system to Ukraine that was rapidly and secretly developed, repurposing its stock of surplus air-to-air missiles into a ground-launched role to help defend Ukraine's cities.
Ukraine is set to receive a new “mobile air defense capability” the size of a shipping container this year, Britain said on Thursday, during Prime Minister Keir Starmer's first visit to Kyiv as leader, six months into his term. Announced.
The trip was headlined by Mr Starmer's surprise announcement of a 100-year agreement with Ukraine, which was signed yesterday with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Downing Street said the terms of the treaty will be debated in the UK Parliament in the coming weeks.
But it also announced new cash and support for Ukraine, with the UK government announcing: “The £4.5bn aid to Ukraine in 2025 will see the UK procure hundreds more air defense systems, drones and essential equipment support to keep the Ukrainian army on the front line.” ”
Notably, this includes a novel air defense system called Gravehawk, developed for Ukraine by a British company. Lord Keir said: “The UK will provide new mobile air defense capabilities to Ukraine this year.”
Little has been officially revealed about the shipping container-sized Gravehawk, but a British government press release about the system says it was “rapidly developed to meet Ukraine's needs on the battlefield.” It states that it was designed in the UK but was jointly funded by the UK and Denmark.
Gravehawk does not appear to be a new missile, but rather a novel — the British government calls it “revolutionary” — meaning it deploys existing missiles. It can “modify air-to-air missiles for ground air defense” and can also “use Ukrainian missiles already in the possession of the Armed Forces.”
According to London, two prototypes were already tested in Ukraine last year, and 15 production units will be delivered this year.
British military's own in-house broadcasting station BFBS memo Although “little else is known about the weapon system” and no images have been officially released, some defense-minded publishers have suggested that the system was discovered long ago on the battlefields of Ukraine, known as the “Franken” As of 2023, which I am guessing is the same as “SAM”.
Ukrainian Defense Express website Reported in 2023 The “Ersatz'' short-range air defense system, which is equipped with British-made ASRAAM (AIM-132) air-to-air missiles, is mounted on the HMT armored closed-cab truck chassis manufactured by the British company Sucatat. RBC Ukraine In the meantime, I will suggest A likely candidate for Ukraine's “retrofit” missile is likely the Russian-designed R-73 air-to-air missile, which is already being talked about. Recent modification experiments by Ukrainesuggesting that despite the large amount of inventory available, it is underutilized in its intended role.
Both of these missiles have the advantage of being relatively self-contained and infrared guided, meaning they can be launched to more or less intended targets without the need for too many complex ground systems. However, the range is considered to be very short. Air-to-air missiles are designed to benefit from being launched at high altitudes and high airspeeds. Launching from the ground means consuming a lot of fuel to get into the air, reducing the overall range to perhaps just a few miles.
In addition to “FrankenSAM,” several other initiatives have been announced. These include restarting production of gun barrels in the UK for the first time in decades to supply Ukraine, and developing cadet exchanges between Ukraine and the UK. According to London, this will allow the next generation of Ukrainian officer classes to be trained at the world-famous Sandhurst Military Academy in the UK, and future British officers will be able to travel to Ukraine and gain first-hand experience in combat with the Russians. It's an opportunity to learn.
