StarStreak in Ukraine: One Missile, Three Warheads | WSJ Equipped

(missile whooshing) - [Narrator] This Starstreak missile travels over three times the speed of sound and, following a decades-long hiatus, it's going into reproduction after the UK sent stockpiles of the Cold War era weapon to Ukraine. This lightweight man-portable air defense system is a short-range missile that can travel approximately 4.3 miles and shoot down aircraft like drones, fighter ground attack planes, and helicopters. That's why the Starstreak may be most useful along the front lines. Ukrainian soldiers leave the bubble of protection provided from long-range missiles as they advance, but they can carry the lightweight Starstreak missiles with them or equip them on tanks like the British Alvis Stormer. Here's how the missile works and how it can uniquely equip Ukraine's air defense. At roughly 2300 miles per hour, the Starstreak travels 100 miles per hour faster than the Stinger, a similar US missile. At that speed, targets likely don't have enough time to react and evade the missile, making the Starstreak potentially more lethal. Targets also have to withstand being hit by not just one warhead, but three. Unlike the Stinger and other missiles in this class, the Starstreak releases three tungsten darts toward the target after it's launched. Having three darts accounts for warhead failure. Even if one dart is defective, there are still two others. Once the darts reach the target, they embed themselves into it and explode. This maximizes the chance that the target will be destroyed. But the key distinguishing factor between the Starstreak and other man-portable missiles is its guidance system. Most, including the Stinger, are heat-seeking, meaning they use infrared systems to track the target. But heat-seeking missiles are susceptible to countermeasures like flares. Because these other missiles track the hottest object, setting off flares can guide the missile away from the heat of the aircraft's engine and towards the flare instead. But the Starstreak is not heat-seeking, it's laser-guided. After launching the missile, the gunman projects a laser beam onto the target for the three darts to follow. This laser-guided system is precise and means the Starstreak can't be jammed or decoyed. But compared to fire and forget missiles like the Stinger, the Starstreak requires more training to use and puts a greater burden on the operator. And this manual tracking means it's more effective for slower moving targets. As long as Russia believes Ukraine has Starstreak missiles, it may be less willing to fly into Ukraine's airspace for fear of getting shot down. And the Starstreak is uniquely equipped to handle the newer tactics deployed on the front lines, including drones. Because of their low heat signature, drones can evade heat-seeking missiles but they're easily taken down by Starstreak missiles if operators can spot them. Yet, training soldiers on the Starstreak isn't the greatest obstacle for Ukraine. The main issue is simply supply. The Starstreak was designed by the Irish arms maker Short Brothers in the 1980s for the British government during the Cold War. It didn't see active service until 2003 in the Iraq War. Then, in 2012, it went out of mass production. But that same year, soldiers in London were equipped with Starstreak missiles to protect the city in case of an attack during the Olympics. Experts believed production stopped because the man-portable missiles like Starstreak and Stinger missiles were thought to be less crucial for the defense needs of the UK and the US at the time. But Britain retained its stockpile. After the UK and US denied Ukraine's request to create a no-fly zone over the country, the UK sent these missiles to help keep Ukraine's airspace clear from Russian aircraft. - So in response to Ukrainian request, the government has taken the decision to explore the donation of Starstreak high velocity man-portable anti-air missiles. - [Narrator] This renewed demand has led the French weapons manufacturer Thales to renew its production of Starstreak missiles. But like many weapons manufacturers, Thales has supply chain issues. These complications mean relaunching the Starstreak could take over a year. Since last March, the UK has sent numerous air defense systems and over 10,000 missiles, though the exact number of Starstreak missiles is unknown. It's also unclear how many Starstreak missiles Ukraine has left or when it will get more. But experts say that the country is strategically quiet about its air defense systems. Starstreak missiles are just one kind of man-portable missile, which is just one type of short-range missile, which is just one method of air defense. Experts say it's best practice to have multiple options to solve the same problem which is why Ukraine has asked for a variety of weapons. (Volodymyr speaking in foreign language) (mid tempo music)

Channel: Wall Street Journal

Views: 231,816

Keywords: starstreak missile, ukraine, ukraine news, ukraine weapons, russia, russia news, russia ukraine war, war in ukraine, starstreak missile ukraine, one missile, three warheads, wsj, equipped, ukraine war, air defense, cold war, attack drones, russian helicopters, british alvis stormer, stinger missiles, tungsten darts, guidance system, heat seeking missile, infrared systems, laser guided missile, heat seeking vs laser guided, volodymyr zelensky, ukraine news today, wonews

Id: Td5ikoxWzi0

Length: 4min 51sec (291 seconds)

Published: Thu Aug 10 2023

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[u/aim456]

Another great move by the UK in supporting Ukrainians against Russian aggression!

[u/CBfromDC]

StarStreak has emerged as the single best Manpad in the Ukraine war -- by far,

1. Longer range
2. Faster
3. Can't be jammed
4. Better against drones
5. Even takes out IFV's and damages tanks - along with all types of aircraft.

The more StarStreaks -- the better.

[u/New_Berry_8807]

Starstreak missiles were sent by the UK very early on in the war but I've not heard of their use or seen a single video of them being used - has anyone else?

I was hoping these missiles would have given the Russians a real headache but I can't understand why there has been no reports of them - not that I've seen anyway.

[u/Bratanjero]

Anyone getting Tiberian Sun vibes, cause of the similarity to the multi missle of nod?

[u/Kay51995]

Taxes well spent :)

[u/XenDk]

They just cant get this right.