Storm Shadow

The Storm Shadow is a Franco-British low-observable, long-range air-launched cruise missile developed since 1994 by Matra and British Aerospace, and now manufactured by MBDA. "Storm Shadow" is the weapon's British name; in France it is called SCALP-EG (which stands for "Système de Croisière Autonome à Longue Portée – Emploi Général"; English: "Long Range Autonomous Cruise Missile System – General Purpose"). The missile is based on the French-developed Apache anti-runway cruise missile, but differs in that it carries a unitary warhead instead of cluster munitions. To meet the requirement issued by the French Ministry of Defence for a more potent cruise missile capable of being launched from surface vessels and submarines, and able to strike strategic and military targets from extended standoff ranges with even greater precision, MBDA France began development of the Missile de Croisière Naval ("Naval Cruise Missile") or MdCN in 2006 to complement the SCALP. The first firing test took place in July 2013 and was successful. The MdCN has been operational on French FREMM frigates since 2017 and also equips France's Barracuda nuclear attack submarines, which entered operational service in 2022. However, MdCN is not a derivative of the Storm Shadow, but a distinct missile. In 2017, a joint contract to upgrade the respective Storm Shadow/SCALP stockpiles in French and British service was signed. It is expected to sustain the missile until its planned withdrawal from service in 2032. Since 2023, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Storm Shadow missiles have been supplied to Ukraine in large quantities. Multiple Russian ships have been either sunk or heavily damaged by them. France, the UK and Italy are together developing the Stratus missile family to replace SCALP/Storm Shadow and each nation's respective anti-ship missiles by 2028 and 2034. On 10 July 2025, MBDA announced that it was resuming production...