UK transfers SCALP missile blueprints to Ukraine for domestic production

VIENNA — The United Kingdom has transferred classified blueprints for British-made components of the SCALP cruise missile to Ukraine, granting the country the intellectual property and permissions needed to produce the high-tech European weapon domestically.

France had already provided Ukraine with a production license for the Franco-British weapon — known as Storm Shadow in its U.K. variant — in July.

New U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced his decision to share the sensitive design details with Ukraine during his first visit to Kyiv on Monday. The two countries, bound by close military cooperation and strong British support for Ukraine's defense, signed a 100-year bilateral partnership agreement in 2025.

Despite the highly symbolic and strategic nature of the SCALP transfer, Ukraine is unlikely to produce large numbers of Storm Shadows in the near future. The country lacks specialized, high-precision manufacturing equipment at scale, a challenge compounded by the ongoing war.

Joint Production Efforts

France and Ukraine have been seeking to establish a joint SCALP production line in Ukraine, but the effort had stalled due to a lack of authorization for British-made components.

"The move follows the U.K. being the first to gift long-range strike weapons for defensive purposes to Ukraine in 2023 and will allow the French and Ukrainians to move forward with the Ukrainian assembly of the missile," the British Prime Minister's office said in a press statement ahead of Burnham's public announcement.

The British government stated that the decision came alongside Project Brakestop, an initiative aimed at rapidly developing effective and low-cost long-range weapons for Ukraine's use.

Russian Reaction

Moscow has responded negatively to the announcement. Former Russian Deputy Foreign Minister and current Kremlin advisor Andrei Fedorov told the BBC that the U.K. could see its factories involved in support for Ukraine face a "semi-military" response — "not by Russia, but from unknown sources."

Long-range strike capabilities for Ukraine have long been a sensitive issue for the Kremlin. Ukraine's deep-strike campaign targeting oil refineries and warehouses has made the war tangible to the Russian public, particularly ahead of elections this September. In response, hybrid warfare across Europe bearing Russian signatures — including mystery drone appearances and sabotage — has increased.

Timeline of Long-Range Missile Support

• May 2023: The U.K. became the first country to publicly supply long-range missiles to Ukraine, providing Storm Shadow, initially with restrictions against use on Russian territory.
• Shortly after: France followed suit, supplying SCALP missiles to Kyiv.
• Fall 2023: The U.S. quietly began delivering ATACMS ballistic missiles, also with restrictions on use inside Russia.
• Summer 2024: The Biden administration authorized the use of HIMARS rocket launchers across the border into Russia to help defend Kharkiv. Similar case-specific uses of SCALP and Storm Shadow against Russia followed later that year.
• May 2025: New German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced that Germany, the U.K., France, and the U.S. had lifted range restrictions, allowing Ukraine to strike deep across Russia with Western-supplied weapons.

Ukraine's Domestic Capabilities

In parallel, Ukraine has been developing its own deep-strike capabilities, most notably the FP-5 "Flamingo" cruise missile, built by the private but state-supported Fire Point enterprise. In recent months, the country has also field-tested various homegrown ballistic missiles, including an incident in which the Russian military shot down a Ukrainian ballistic missile just 40 kilometers from Moscow.

About the Author

Linus Höller is Defense News' Europe correspondent and OSINT investigator. He reports on the arms deals, sanctions, and geopolitics shaping Europe and the world. He holds master's degrees in WMD nonproliferation, terrorism studies, and international relations, and works in four languages: English, German, Russian, and Spanish.