Zelensky: Ukraine received consent to produce Storm Shadow/SCALP
Ukraine has received political consent from the United Kingdom and France to localize production of Storm Shadow/SCALP cruise missiles. The next stage will be negotiations between technical teams to determine a specific schedule for the project.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky stated this on August 25 during a press interaction with President of Estonia Alar Karis.
According to Zelensky, a positive political decision has already been made, but the specific start date for production still needs to be agreed upon by specialists.
"We have a positive outcome. I consider this a strong positive and a strong decision. We need to move forward as soon as possible. Now technical teams will meet after the positive political decision and show us a calendar," said the president.
This new stage of agreements became possible after the UK decided to open access for Ukraine to the technological information necessary for missile production. The day before, on August 24, the British government officially allowed MBDA to transfer classified data on British components of the SCALP missile for the creation of production lines in Ukraine.
London explained that SCALP is the French version of the British Storm Shadow, and both missiles use common French and British technologies. Therefore, to localize production, consent from both countries was required.
France gave permission earlier
France, for its part, officially authorized licensed production of SCALP in Ukraine back in July. In the joint declaration by Presidents Emmanuel Macron and Volodymyr Zelensky from July 14, it is stated that missile production should be deployed "as soon as possible" and by the end of 2026.
However, to implement the project, access to the British part of the technologies was still needed. Storm Shadow/SCALP is a joint Franco-British development, so French permission was not enough for full localization.
Now the British government has allowed MBDA to disclose the necessary technical information. London stated that this will allow France and Ukraine to advance in organizing the assembly of missiles directly on Ukrainian territory.
Production will be deployed in Ukraine
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Andy Burnham, announcing the decision during a visit to Kyiv, said that British and French defense industries will work together with the Ukrainian side to create the relevant production capabilities.
This is not just about supplying already manufactured missiles to Ukraine, but about transferring technology and organizing their production within the country. Specific volumes of output, enterprises to be involved in the project, and timelines for reaching serial production are not publicly disclosed.
Storm Shadow and SCALP belong to the same family of air-launched cruise missiles produced by the European company MBDA. The UK began supplying Storm Shadow to Ukraine in 2023, becoming one of the first countries to provide Kyiv with Western long-range weapons of this class.
The decision on Storm Shadow/SCALP is part of a broader program of localization of Western weapons in Ukraine. According to July agreements between Kyiv and Paris, France also authorized the production in Ukraine of AASM guided air-to-ground munitions, and France and Italy authorized Aster 30 missiles for air defense systems.
After political coordination of the Storm Shadow/SCALP project, the key issue now is the technical parameters and deadlines. According to Zelensky's statement, these will be determined by teams from Ukraine and partner countries at the next stage of negotiations.
Based on materials from: Volodymyr Zelensky, UK government, Élysée Palace
