A British-made weapon was used against Russia for the first time in the Ukraine war. British-made anti-aircraft missile Starstreak shot down a Russian helicopter in Ukraine.
Videos have appeared on the internet showing that the missile targeted Russia's Mi-28N chopper in the Luhansk region. The missile struck the tail of the aircraft and the chopper was cut into two pieces.
Ben Wallace, British Defence Secretary, had revealed earlier that the Starstreak system was imminently ready to be used.
Starstreak Missiles
Starstreak is a shoulder-mounted missile, which travels three times the speed of the sound and can easily take down low-flying enemy jets.
Wallace had also informed that Ukrainian forces were trained to use the missiles, stressing that Britain is putting all efforts to support Ukraine with weapons in its fight against Russia.
Starstreak, short-range missiles, are made by Thales company in Belfast. The missile has a range of four km and can be shot from a stand or shoulder.
The missile detaches into three darts in mid-air, which are guided to the target by a laser operator on the ground. The use of lasers rather than being attracted to infrared energy means flares cannot counteract the three-pronged missile, according to the Daily Mail.
According to the Thales company, Starstreak's darts can't be decoyed by flares or any other countermeasures and these darts are designed to defeat heavily armored vehicles and light air targets. When darts penetrate targets, they inflict massive kinetic energy damage and detonate inside the target.
More Weapons to Ukraine
The UK has also sent thousands of anti-tank weapons to Ukraine but so far NATO countries have not accepted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's demand to give them fighter aircraft or tanks.
Wallace also assured that more lethal aid is going to be delivered to Ukraine in the coming days. Kyiv has expressed its requirement for long-range artillery as the Russian army has been devastating Ukrainian cities with the help of artillery.
Ukraine is also seeking armored vehicles such as protective vehicles and more ant-aircraft weapons.
