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Facing a 3,000km Russian Threat, the UK Launches Its Most Ambitious Missile Program in Decades

Illustrative image. MdCN missile, a possible contender for the ELSA framework. (Source: MDBA)

The UK is urgently moving to fill what officials describe as a dangerous gap in its ability to strike distant targets from the ground, launching a new wave of long-range missile programs with NATO partners to counter Russia’s expanding capability to hit Europe from thousands of miles away.

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Photo of Vlad Litnarovych
Vlad Litnarovych
News Writer

The United Kingdom is accelerating efforts to field ground-launched weapons capable of hitting targets more than 2,000 kilometers away, a dramatic shift in British defense planning driven by Russia’s growing willingness to strike deep into Europe, according to BFBS Forces News on December 1.

The push comes as London works with a coalition of NATO allies—including Germany, France, Italy, Poland, and Sweden—on a unified program to rebuild Europe’s long-range strike capabilities using each nation’s scientific and industrial base.

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British officials now view deep precision strike as essential to deterrence, especially as Russia routinely employs long-range missiles, drones, and ballistic weapons in its war against Ukraine, Forces News noted.

Russia’s long arm shapes the UK’s new strategy

Moscow already deploys weapons capable of reaching the UK directly, including:

  • the Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile (≈3,000 km);

  • the Novator 9M729 cruise missile (≈2,500 km);

  • Shahed/Geran-2 suicide attack drones (≈2,000 km.)

The Kremlin has shown it is prepared to use these weapons against both military and civilian targets. Russia claimed an Oreshnik strike on Ukraine’s city of Dnipro in late 2024, underscoring the reach of its arsenal.

A recent report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies concluded the war has “demonstrated both the key role [deep precision strike] systems can play in modern warfare and the threat posed by Russia’s massed use of cruise and ballistic missiles.”

UK and Germany build a new 2,000km weapon

Within the European Long-Range Strike Approach (ELSA) framework, the UK and Germany are co-developing what is expected to be a new class of advanced missile with a reach of about 2,000 km.

Few details have been released, but Forces News experts believe the system is likely to be a cruise missile, an aero-ballistic weapon, or a next-generation one-way effector—a long-range strike drone designed to overwhelm enemy defenses at lower cost.

MdCN missile, a possible contender for the ELSA framework, is hitting a target during tests. (Source: MDBA)
MdCN missile, a possible contender for the ELSA framework, is hitting a target during tests. (Source: MDBA)

Developers described the joint program as one of “the most advanced systems ever designed.”

UK’s independent projects: Nightfall and Brakestop

According to Forces News, London is also developing its own ground-launched systems like:

Project Nightfall

It is a short-range ballistic missile with a mobile launcher, 600 km range, and a 300 kg warhead.

Brakestop (Attack drone)

The platform resembles a long-range strike drone with a 600 km range and a 200–300 kg payload.

Both are intended to give the British Army a deep-strike and reconnaissance-strike role within NATO, filling a gap repeatedly highlighted in UK defense reviews.

Launched from Britain, the range is limited. But fired from a NATO ally such as Poland, these systems could reach deep into Russian military infrastructure.

Storm Shadow factor

Storm Shadow missiles are advanced, precision-guided munitions jointly developed by the UK and France (called SCALP in France).

They are designed for deep-strike missions and can hit targets at ranges of over 250 kilometers (155 miles). This range allows Ukrainian forces to strike deep into Russia, targeting critical infrastructure, command centers, runways, and logistics hubs.

How many Storm Shadows does the UK have?

According to reports, the UK originally had approximately 900 Storm Shadow missiles for its military. However, many of these have already been used or are nearing the end of their operational lifespan.

Current estimates suggest that the UK currently has about 600 operational missiles, with some reports indicating that hundreds have been supplied to Ukraine since the full-scale invasion began in 2022.

Why the urgency? “Deterrence by Punishment”

British officials now frame long-range strike as essential to deterrence, to ensure any Russian attack—conventional or hybrid—would carry “a significant cost,” no matter how far from the front line, Forces News stated.

Post–Cold War defense cuts hollowed out the UK’s long-range strike capability. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, coupled with growing strategic alignment between Moscow, Beijing, and Pyongyang, has triggered a reversal.

Europe’s reliance on US long-range systems—like Tomahawks and air-launched cruise missiles—has also raised concerns as Washington prioritizes “America First” policies.

As Will Hollis, a Forces News reporter, noted, “When an opponent throws a punch, you need to be able to hit back—even over long distances.”

Earlier, the MBDA consortium resumed production of the Franco-British SCALP/Storm Shadow air-launched cruise missiles.

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