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Today, the biggest news comes from Ukraine.
Three and a half years of war have exhausted Ukraine’s Storm Shadows stockpiles to dangerously low levels. Fortunately, their deep strike capabilities will not just be restored but increased 12 times over with the new sale of top of the line US cruise missiles.
The US has recently approved the sale of Eram Extended-Range Attack Munition missiles for Ukraine as part of a new aid package worth 850 million dollars.
The package will mostly be financed by European countries with the aim to deliver 840 missiles by October 2026. Ukraine will receive the rest in smaller batches, with the full delivery consisting of 3,550 missiles.
Eram was designed to be an air-launched precision strike weapon that could be mass produced at a relatively low cost of 250,000 dollars each. According to Boeing, it has a range of 550 kilometres and it can be equipped with a blast fragmentation, anti-ship or air-to-air warhead, which weighs 227 kg. Eram can fly around Mach 0.6 or 700 kilometres per hour, making it difficult to intercept. It can be launched from F16’s or Su-24 tactical bombers, but with modifications Mirage 2000 jet fighters may also carry them.
The Storm Shadow cruise missile is comparable to the Eram missiles, but the Storm Shadow has a larger warhead, although it is also more expensive. European allies are unable to meet Ukraine’s demands for long-range weapons, therefore Eram offers a cheaper and easier to produce option for strikes. The only caveat is that the use of these missiles will require Pentagon approval, which could fall victim to similar restrictions as with Atacms, possibly limiting Ukraine’s ability to strike deep behind enemy lines.
The delivery of this aid package comes at a crucial time, because Storm Shadow stockpiles are dwindling, as the United Kingdom and France cannot produce enough. Because of its low cost and sufficient quantity, Eram offers a better solution compared to Storm Shadow. Given the long range of the missile and versatility of its warheads, Ukrainian jets can strike a variety of fixed targets inside Russia from a safe distance.
245 targets were already well within Ukraine's Atacms and Storm Shadow striking distance, now, all of them will feel the danger of the Eram missile. By targeting enemy command posts, Ukraine can neutralize high-ranking officials and create a time-window to counterattack while Russian troops are unable to receive commands. They can also hit other military targets such as airfields and air defence systems to eliminate the threat to their fighter jets and create opportunities for more deep strikes inside Russia without them being intercepted. Attacking Russia’s logistics, such as bridges and ammunition depots would degrade their ability to continue offensive operations. Finally, by attacking their energy infrastructure and destroying oil refineries, Ukraine can deprive Russia from their main source of revenues to finance their war machine.
The exact number of Storm Shadow and Scalp missiles delivered to Ukraine by Western partners are classified, but estimates suggest that it ranges from 300 up to 500. Given that in total 3,550 Eram missiles will be delivered this means a 12-fold increase. Ukraine has already neutralized countless air defence systems, enemy headquarters, weapon depots and even sank a submarine using only a couple hundred Storm Shadows. With 12 times more missiles they can continue their campaign of striking high value targets and keep them out of operation by hitting the same targets multiple times. Deploying the Eram in combination with other domestically built weapons such as the newly developed Flamingo cruise missile, long-range Neptun missile, or the Hrim-2 tactical ballistic missile would make the strikes even more effective and make the interception more difficult for the Russians.
Overall, Eram offers an excellent alternative to the Storm Shadow, despite having a smaller warhead. The new missile allows Ukraine to enhance its strike campaigns deep inside Russia, because now sufficient numbers will be finally at their disposal. With Russia losing its air defence systems at a pace that their production cannot keep up with, the Ukrainian air force can operate more freely and deploy the Eram missiles from closer to the front, allowing them to strike deeper. The new missile is another tool in Ukraine’s inventory to put further pressure on Russia.
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