Thread by @thetimes

Russian pilots will think twice about getting into their planes after British soldiers have trained Ukrainians to fire Starstreak anti-aircraft missiles, the British Army’s air defence commander says
thetimes.co.uk/article/britis…

Colonel Graham Taylor, who co-ordinates the ground-based air defence capability of the UK, said that the high-velocity weapon causes “catastrophic” damage to low-flying enemy fighter jets and helicopters 🚁

Taylor said that British troops were being deployed to a secret location in eastern Europe to teach Ukrainians how to use the portable system, which launches missiles capable of travelling at more than 2,000 mph

Starstreak splits into three “darts” in mid-air that tear through enemy aircraft after being laser-guided to a target by a soldier on the ground. 🎯

Taylor said that Starstreak was “catastrophic” and “potent”

Would the system help 🇺🇦 to impose an effective no-fly zone? Taylor said he wasn't in a position to comment on the likelihood or not.

“But of course, yes, ground-based defence systems that are highly capable in 🇺🇦 will certainly have an effect and make 🇷🇺 think [about flying]”

The MoD is sending shoulder launchers and lightweight portable stand launchers to 🇺🇦, as well as Starstreak.

The UK is also deploying troops to Poland to operate the UK’s long-range Sky Sabre missile system, which will take down any enemy aircraft that fly into Polish airspace

Starstreak demands a lot of training in order for soldiers to use it effectively.

The shoulder-launched missiles are most difficult to master and can require weeks of training, as they must be aimed at aircraft by the operator while standing under the device, which weighs 14kg

It takes 1,000 successful hits in a simulator before a soldier is qualified to fire a live missile.

They need to be able to aim at and track a moving target up to 7km away with a two-metre margin of error

Sergeant Major Katie Stock, a Starstreak specialist who has locked in more than 3,000 destroyed targets in training exercises, said that anyone on the receiving end of the missile will “blink and then you’ll have some bad news”

Soldiers in the 7th Air Defence Group said it was possible to condense training into about a week, & their most skilled shooters could destroy 100 simulated targets every 2 hours.

Taylor said the Army had “sent a short-term training team to assist with training the Ukrainians”

🗣️“Their ability to pick up those skills and drills will take some time — that will be dependent on their aptitude, although clearly they’ve got a vested interest in putting that learning to good effect"

Read the full story 👇
thetimes.co.uk/article/britis…