The French Air Force has used the Scalp missile against Daesh for the very first time.
On Dec. 15, the French Air Force conducted a raid against ISIS targets using the Scalp-EG cruise missile for the first time since the beginning of Operation Chammal.
According to a statement from the French Ministry of Defense the ai strike involved ten aircraft from their deployment airfields in the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.
The raid targeted Daesh headquarters, training center and a logistics deposit, including some hardened buildings, in the region of al-Qaim, near the border separating Iraq from Syria.
Scalp EG (Système de Croisière Autonome à Longue Portée – Emploi Général, General Purpose Long Range Standoff Cruise Missile) is the French designation for the MBDA Storm Shadow, a conventional, stealthy, 1.300 kg standoff weapon (over 5-mt long), designed for use against very high value targets in all-weather conditions from a safe distance of about 250 km.
After release, the 900K Euro-a-piece air-launched cruise missile’s wings deploy and the weapon navigates its way to the target at low-level using terrain profile matching and an integrated Global Positioning System.
Hitting the target, the 450 kg BROACH warhead uses an initial penetrating charge to enter a fortified bunker, then a variable delay fuze controls detonation of the main warhead.
At least 15 Scalp missiles were fired by the French combat planes in Libya in 2011.
The missile is already in service with the RAF and Italian Tornados, that have also extensively used it in combat during Libya Air War.
H/T François Bouder for the heads-up
