File image.
Russian forces taking part in the ongoing special military operation in Ukraine has captured a nearly intact British-made Brimstone precision-guided missile.
On May 8, Russian sources shared photos of the missile, which was allegedly found by Russian forces near a front in Zaporizhzhia oblast. The missile reportedly failed seconds after being launched by Kiev forces. The missile sustained very little damage.
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The captured missile was of the Bramston’s first generation which utilizes an active millimetric-wave radar seeker and an inertial navigation system. The missile’s second generation is equipped with a more advanced dual mode seeker that also supports semi-active laser guidance.
The maximum range of the ground-launched version of the Brimstone is unknown, but the air-launched version can reportedly hit targets more than 20 kilometers away. The missile’s warhead is a 6,3 kilograms tandem shaped charge with different delay and proximity fusing modes.
In April, the UK announced that it will supply Kiev forces with hundreds of ground-launched Brimstone missiles, without revealing that they will be of the older generation.
The first use of the Brimstone missile by Kiev forces was documented in the Donbass region on May 6. However, it is likely that the missiles were used before that against the Russian military and the armed forces of Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic.
The captured Brimstone missile will likely be sent to Russia for research. The Russian military could learn how jam the missile’s millimetric-wave radar seeker, or even reverse-engineer it.
The UK is one of the main military backers of Kiev forces. On May 7, Britain said it would provide a further 1.3 billion pounds [$1.60 billion] in military support and aid to Kiev.
