UK confirms delivery to Ukraine of Stormer Starstreak air defense missile armored vehicles


On Monday, April 25, 2022, the British Defense Secretary of Defense announced that the United Kingdom will send an undisclosed number of Stormer tracked armored vehicles fitted with the Starstreak HVM (High-Velocity Missile) air defense missile system.
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British army Armoured Fighting Vehicles (AFV) Stormer, firing High Velocity Starstreak Missile. (Picture source UK MoD)


Currently, the United Kingdom continues its support to Ukraine with military equipment and weapons. On April 8, 2022, the United Kingdom approved another aid of €120 million to provide military equipment and weapons to Ukraine including anti-tank missiles and air defense systems, as well as loitering munitions and non-lethal aid like helmets, body armor and night-vision goggles.

In recent weeks the forces have increased the pressure for the conquest of eastern Ukraine with numerous bombardments throughout the Ukrainian territory. On April 19, 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Russian forces have begun their new offensive against cities in the east and south, adding that Russian army will involve new military forces in Ukraine to take part in the military operations.

The Stormer is a light tracked armored vehicle that was developed by the British company Alvis Vicker based on the CVRTs, a family of light reconnaissance armored vehicles but with many new improvements. The transmission is the same as on the CVRT vehicle but with a modified input gear train. It uses components of the CVRT suspension but with six road wheels instead of five for the CVRT.

The design of the Stormer consists of three main parts with the driver at the left front of the hull, the engine compartment to the right, and a troop compartment at the rear. The hull is made of all-welded aluminum armor to provide protection against the firing of small arms and artillery shell splinters.

The Stormer is powered by a Cummins Engines 6BTAA-T250A 6-cylinder diesel engine developing 250hp coupled to a semi-automatic transmission. It can run at a maximum road speed of 80 km/h with a maximum cruising range of 650 km.

The air defense version of the Stormer is fitted with the Starstreak missile weapon station armed with two blocks of four Starstreak missiles ready to fire. Another batch of 12 missiles is stored in the vehicle. The roof of the vehicle is fitted with an air defense alerting device (ADAD), supplied by Thales (formerly Pilkington) Optronics. The ADAD is an infrared thermal imaging surveillance system that is used by close air defense units, to detect hostile aircraft and helicopter targets and direct weapon systems into the target area. Operating as an infrared search and tracking system in the 8 - 14 micron waveband, the alerter is designed to operate against low and fast-moving fixed-wing aircraft, as well as the latest generation of attack helicopters.

The Starstrek is a surface-to-air missile that launches three laser beam-riding submunitions, increasing the likelihood of a successful hit on the target. The missile is designed to destroy aerial targets such as helicopters and high-speed ground attack aircraft. It has a maximum firing range of 7 km.