The announcement made noise. Arriving at the NATO summit in Vilnius on Tuesday, July 11, President Emmanuel Macron announced the delivery of long-range Scalp missiles to Ukraine. “A strong gesture,” judge Guillaume Lasconjarias, a Paris-Sorbonne professor, military historian and former researcher at NATO, interviewed on France 24. “France gives Ukrainian aviation the opportunity to direct and support the counter-offensive a little more deeply.”
This fighter-launched cruise missile was developed jointly by France and the United Kingdom, which has been supplying Ukraine with its own version of the Scalp, the Storm Shadow, since May. With a range of over 250 kilometers, Kiev makes it possible to reach Russian-controlled areas in the east of the country. A French military source assured AFP that the scalps were already on the ground.
From political risk to hidden asset
According to Swiss military expert Alexandre Vautravers, NATO member states, including France, have so far assumed that long-range weapons could pose a “political risk”. “This type of armament raised questions in that the Ukrainians could have used it to bomb critical infrastructure on Russian territory,” he explains. “Westerners thought that if the Ukrainians could target an airbase, they could target a dam, a nuclear power plant, and even Red Square.”
Today, however, the long range is viewed differently. Since the Scalp missile is equipped with “standoff” abilities, i.e. it can fire from a safe distance, it cannot be jettisoned from the front line. “One should not imagine that these weapons will hit civilian infrastructure 250 kilometers inside Russian territory,” explains the expert. “In addition, the Russian air defense system is so good that Ukrainian planes are forced to drop their weapons 100 kilometers behind the front.”
Enough to allow the Ukrainians to continue their counteroffensive. “Disrupting logistics and Russian command and control is crucial for the Ukrainian armed forces,” Ivan Klyszcz, a researcher at the International Center for Defense and Security (ICDS) in Estonia, told AFP. This capability will feed into the “current approach” of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which are trying to “move slowly to protect their forces and reduce their casualties as much as possible.”
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Being unobtrusive and highly accurate, the scalp can attack bunkers or infrastructure behind the Russian line. In addition, it is difficult to detect – the probability that the missile will hit its target is very high.
According to Paris, Ukraine has given “guarantees for use within its internationally recognized borders” regarding these missiles. However, on the right and extreme right of the French political spectrum, these guarantees were seen as insufficient.
Bring Russia to the negotiating table
Long criticized for maintaining good relations with Vladimir Putin in hopes of a speedy resolution to the conflict, Emmanuel Macron has made a notable strategic shift since late 2022. The French President ‘s declarations of support for Kiev have continued to grow . For Alexandre Vautravers, “Emmanuel Macron’s announcement is therefore not a surprise.”
The delivery of these rockets is also not a first. The British are already supplying Ukraine with their Storm Shadow, and the Russians have already announced that they have captured one without destroying it. This technology is now in the hands of Russian engineers who want to copy it. For the military expert, it is primarily an announcement effect. “France, like many other countries, is under pressure. It’s a kind of race to see who can help Ukraine the most.”
According to Jean-Pierre Maulny, deputy director of IRIS, the purpose of deploying long-range missiles is to bring Russia to the negotiating table. “The West wants to provide Zelenskyy with all the means for the Ukrainian counteroffensive to succeed,” he commented on France 24. You will be an unwavering support and that’s why Putin cannot win this war.”
According to various sources, the French army’s inventory of scalps is estimated at around 400 or a little less. According to the French Institute for International Relations (Ifri), the unit price is 850,000 euros. The number of missiles delivered to Ukraine has not been specified, but Paris speaks of a significant amount that would maintain the supplies necessary for French defence.
For its part, the Kremlin denounced a “mistake” and reiterated that Russia must take “countermeasures” in the conflict in Ukraine.