Video shows Russian air defense system failing to intercept Storm Shadow missile

ByClément Charpentreau
Defense A Storm Shadow missile flies by a Pantsir air defense system
ID1974 / Shutterstock.com, Rept0n1x / Wikimedia Commons, AeroTime

A video emerged on social media showing a confrontation between the Pantsir-S1 air defense system and the Storm Shadow missile. 

The unconfirmed footage is filmed from the perspective of the Pantsir. It first shows the tracking radar detecting the Storm Shadow before moving to the electro-optic sensors of the system successfully locking onto the incoming cruise missile. The air defense system fires two 95Ya6 interceptor missiles, but both fail to hit their target. The Storm Shadow continues its course and eventually explodes, likely when reaching its target. 

It is unclear at this point when or where the video was filmed. Ukraine has been using Storm Shadow missiles since May 2023.

The Pantsir-S1 versus the Storm Shadow 

The Pantsir-S1 is an air defense system developed by the KBP Instrument Design Bureau in Tula, Russia. It is composed of a maximum of six launchers per battery along with one command center. It has a maximum range of approximately 20 kilometers (12 miles) and can reach an altitude of up to 15 kilometers (50,000 feet). According to its manufacturer, the missile can engage targets flying at a maximum speed of 3,600 kilometers per hour (2,240 miles per hour). The launchers are also equipped with two 2A38M double-barreled anti-aircraft guns. 

The Storm Shadow/SCALP-EG cruise missile is a British-French weapon developed in the 1990s by Matra and British Aerospace and is now manufactured by the European missile maker MBDA. Although the Storm Shadow missile is capable of striking targets at a radius of 560 kilometers (350 miles), the export models have been specifically modified to operate at a reduced range of 250 kilometers (155 miles). The missile flies at a top speed of Mach 0.8 (988 kilometers per hour or 615 miles per hour).  

The United Kingdom has delivered Storm Shadow/SCALP-EG missiles to Ukraine. One of which was allegedly used in June 2023 in the destruction of the Chonhar bridge that connects Crimea with Russian-held parts of the southern Kherson region. 

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