Britain’s most advanced portable missile system is thought to have shot down a Russian helicopter in its first use on the Ukrainian battlefield.
Starstreak, a high-velocity projectile that destroys targets with three kinetic darts, was filmed cutting the aircraft in two over the Luhansk region in the east of the country.
Footage of the attack shows the tungsten spears breaking the tail off the Mi-28N, after Ukrainians using British techniques opened fire.
A Ministry of Defence source believed that the video showed Starstreak in action over Ukraine. The source added that the anti-aircraft system had been deployed in the country for almost a week. Senior defence industry sources who examined the film also believe it to be the weapon.
Starstreak was sent to Ukraine as part of a weapons package from Britain that includes thousands of Next Generation Light Anti-tank Weapon (NLAW) missiles. It can be fired from a stand or shoulder launcher and take out jets and helicopters up to 7km away.
Unlike other anti-aircraft missiles, it is not a “fire and forget” system. The projectile splits into three darts in mid-air and must be laser guided to targets by the operator on the ground. This makes it virtually impossible for enemy aircraft to deploy counter measures such as flares to distract the missile because, unlike the US-made Stinger, it does not home in on infrared energy.
Mastering the weapon is difficult. Soldiers must have 1,000 successful hits on a simulator before they are allowed to launch a live missile.
The MoD sent a team of Britain’s best Starstreak operators and a simulator to a secret location in a neighbouring country to train Ukrainians. They had aimed to get them ready with an intense course in two to three weeks, but the confirmation of its use yesterday suggests that soldiers have learnt to use it in one or two.
Starstreak is designed and made by the defence and aerospace company Thales in Belfast. “It really is a step change in the capability of Ukrainians because its range is far greater. It’s absolutely lethal and you can bring down anything from a MiG to battle helicopters — and it’s incredibly accurate,” an industry source told The Times.
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Britain has been one of the biggest contributors of military equipment to Ukraine. It is on track to send 10,000 anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles and is providing £400 million in humanitarian and military support.
The US is providing the largest haul of weaponry, with shipments of Stingers and Javelin launchers as well as state-of-the-art Switchblade drones as part of a $1 billion package.
Canada, which has the third-largest population of Ukrainians, after Ukraine and Russia, has donated thousands of launchers, hand grenades and almost $30 million worth of sniper rifles, ammunition, night-vision gear and body armour.
The Ukrainian air force has said that Russia will win the war if western powers do not donate better aircraft and air defence systems. Despite the success of their ground forces against Russia over the past five weeks, air superiority is “the deciding factor in this war”, military officials have said.
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They said that Ukraine was ill-equipped to defend against Russian air power, adding that Stingers were “not enough” to secure their airspace. Instead, the air force asked for F-15 and F-16 fighters, claiming its pilots were capable of learning how to fly them in two to three weeks. The jets are said to be superior to the Su-27 used by Ukraine at present.
Also requested was the US Patriot system, a heavy duty “long-range, all-altitude, all-weather” air defence system that can destroy tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and aircraft.
US officials say that Russia has ramped up aircraft sorties to more than 300 in a 24-hour period. The Ukrainian air force said on Twitter that it could not close the sky or gain air superiority “due to a large discrepancy in equipment and technologies”, adding that it had been “urgently requesting more modern fighter jets and air defence tools from its allies since the outset of the war. Over the past month, our air force has sustained losses; as equipment is destroyed by Russian forces or damaged in action, our need only grows more urgent.”
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Commenting on its ability to take out Russian aircraft from the ground, the air force said: “Stingers have a limited range and functionality [and] cannot compensate for a lack of modern fighter jets and medium and long-range missile defence systems. Kamikaze drones are designed to destroy targets on the ground and also cannot defend against Russian aircraft and missiles.”Photo Credit: Getty 
Photo Credit: Getty
