Screen grab from a video by MBDA showing a live-fire test of the Brimstone.
On December 17, the British Ministry of Defence confirmed that it had supplied Brimstone II precision-guided missiles to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).
The ministry said that the missiles were provided as a part of a new military aid package meant to support Ukraine’s fight against Russia.
“This aid has played a crucial role in stalling Russian advances,” the ministry said on Twitter.
Following the start of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine, the United Kingdom pledged to supply the AFU with hundreds of ground-launched Brimstone missiles. The Brimstone missiles previously supplied to Ukraine were of the first generation which utilizes an active millimetric-wave radar seeker and an inertial navigation system.
The more advanced Brimstone II adds a semi-active laser seeker, which increases accuracy and provides more flexibility when it comes to target accusation.
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 is armed with a 6,3 kilograms tandem shaped charge warhead.
The UK developed special ground missile launchers for the AFU by simply bolting a triple Brimstone launcher rack used on aircraft onto the back of a truck.
The Russian military has already captured several Brimstone missiles that failed after launch, and managed to destroy at least one launcher.
The first generation of Brimstone missiles failed to make any real impact on the battlefield in Ukraine. The more advanced Brimstone II missiles are more lethal, but will not likely do better. The UK’s decision to supply these missiles may be a sign that its stockpiles of the Brimstone old generation were depleted.
