While Ukraine, in difficulty, calls on the Western camp to provide it with as many weapons as possible to slow down Russia’s advance, RFI reveals the French method for supplying Ukrainian forces with Scalp cruise missiles without touching its own strategic stocks . A secret operation which is based on an unprecedented industrial plan. Narrative.
On January 16, 2024, during a press conference, the Head of State Emmanuel Macron announced new arms deliveries to kyiv. For the first time, the president gave a precise figure: “ 40 missiles Scalp » for kyiv. This is the second time that Paris has transferred such weapons to Ukrainian forces. But where do these missiles considered strategic come from?
The program was named “Chrysalis”, in reference to the metamorphosis of the caterpillar into a butterfly.
France has identified several batches of Scalp cruise missiles, placed under “cocoons” in its arsenals. A cocoon is a waterproof packaging which is used to protect and preserve equipment with a view to possible return to service.
Two types of stocks appeared: on the one hand, old missiles that had reached the end of their life but were intact. On the other, cocoons containing missiles no longer in use, because they had been cannibalized: that is to say, a certain number of parts or components had been removed to keep others in working order. Scalp deployed within Air Force squadrons.
They must therefore return to the factories where they were assembled, in France. More precisely in Bourges, on one of the industrial MBDA sites from where these machines came out from the 2000s.
Streamlined procedure
An equipment upgrade is planned over a period of three months, to complete and pass each missile a battery of tests. A simplified procedure because Paris is certain that the Scalps sent to Ukraine will not be stored again but will be fired against Russian targets in the coming weeks. Short-term consumables.
The operation began in January, as soon as the presidential announcement was made. “ A very effective economic approach since the Scalp released from the cocoons were in any case intended to be “scraped” [détruits] », According to a source close to the matter. Thus, they are delivered to Ukraine at an ultra competitive price, “ a quarter of the value of a new missile », Specify our sources. The operation is entirely financed by Paris via the French aid fund for Ukraine. Furthermore, ” this mechanic [schéma] has no impact on the needs of French forces », we conclude in Paris.
All-round search for weapons
Apart from “Chrysalide”, this strictly Franco-French program which must be completed within the year, the French authorities are also prospecting elsewhere. Looking for all types of ammunition: Scalp, but also 155 mm shells for artillery and ground-to-air weapons for the defense of the Ukrainian skies.
There are also Scalp missiles version ” export », and the main idea, again, is to ensure that those who reach the end of their life or those who could be transferred, serve Ukraine. This idea has been circulating insistently since the beginning of the year.
Some customers from the French defense industry have ordered the Scalp in large quantities in a version slightly different from that which equips the French squadrons. However, a source close to the manufacturer clarified to RFI that these versions cannot be programmed via French computers. These missiles must therefore be adapted so that they are compatible with the mission preparation system that Paris has made available to kyiv.
On this sensitive subject, discretion is required, but it is likely that these missiles “ export », if they are sold, will undergo some transformations on the assembly lines in order to be usable by the Ukrainian aviation. The scope of these Scalp “exports” is a little lower, and some software is different.
As for the industrial plan, several scenarios are possible: the most favorable case would be that “ of a direct transfer to Ukraine with the purchase of a new missile behind it, that’s the best! », whispers someone close to the file, his finger crossing his lips. Shh… it’s a well-kept secret.
The architect of victory in the Black Sea
The first copies were delivered to Ukraine in the second half of 2023. In August, Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky also dedicated a Scalp missile by writing on the sides of the weapon “ Glory to Ukraine “.
The first shot targeted a Russian command center located in the Luhansk oblast, which was until then out of range of the Ukrainian arsenal. But the Scalp missiles, with their range of 300 kilometers, were above all the architects of the victory in the Black Sea.
On September 12, a large-scale missile attack destroyed two ships that were dry docked in the port of Sevastopol, a large landing ship and a kilo-class submarine, the Rostov-on-Don.
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On September 22, 2023, a salvo of missiles penetrated Russian surface-to-air defenses and struck the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet located, again, on the Sevastopol naval base, injuring and killing high-ranking officers. Admiral Victor Sokolov was reportedly killed in the attack, although this information has not been confirmed.
On November 4, 2023, the Kerch shipyard suffered a massive attack from around ten missiles, a Russian warship carrying Kalibr cruise missiles was damaged.
Scalp missiles helped push the Russian fleet back to the easternmost part of the Black Sea. A victory which allowed kyiv to protect the port of Odessa and secure a naval corridor along its coasts, allowing the export of cereals.
A ” game changer » also on the forehead
The Scalps also participated in the destruction of important logistical assets which supplied the Russian front. Indeed, its penetrating head makes it possible to destroy buried fortifications.
The missile, with a range of 300 km, can sink several meters into concrete and detects the cavity where its 450 kilo charge is to explode. Its very high precision makes it possible to drill a hole into which a second missile can engage.
Furthermore, its inertial and visual navigation system allows it to fly in “ denial of GPS “, that is to say without satellite positioning capability. It can finally release decoys to attract the enemy’s ground-to-air defense and thus penetrate into the depths of the enemy’s device. In military terms, the Scalp, it’s a real ‘gsoul change “.