Britain supplies Ukraine with new missile system – hidden inside shipping containers

Telegraph

14-02-2025

Britain has started supplying Ukraine with surface-to-air missiles which can be launched from shipping containers.
Named Gravehawk, the new missile defence system converts plentiful Soviet-era weapons into ground-based air defences.
It disguises Cold War-era Vympel R-73 missiles – originally designed for Soviet fighter jets – inside standard shipping containers that can be transported inconspicuously by lorries.
Jimmy Rushton, a Kyiv-based foreign policy and security analyst, said it would cause confusion on the battlefield for the Russian army.
'Russia has to contend with a scenario where any shipping container in Ukraine – and there are tens of thousands – could potentially be concealing one of these systems,' he said.
He added: 'That's also why we got a very detailed look at this system; the MoD were generous with media access compared with similar systems in the past.'
The Gravehawk system allows air-to-air missiles to be deployed as ground-based defences and will enable Ukraine to deploy its stockpile of Vympel missiles, thus boosting Kyiv's capabilities without needing new missile production or complex logistics.
The move comes at a time when continued, substantial Western support for Ukraine is increasingly in doubt, especially since the new Trump administration entered the White House.
It also represents a key advancement for Ukraine's air defence amid increasing Russian air threats that have been wreaking havoc on civilian targets and key infrastructure sites.
The system uses two weapons rails taken from Su-27 fighter jets to launch the R-73 missiles, known to Nato as AA-11 Archer missiles. They can travel 1,650 miles per hour and have a 20-mile range.
A camera mounted on the container tracks targets through heat signatures. This makes the platform difficult for enemies to detect as it emits no radar signal.
Little is known about the system, but it has been described as highly innovative, relatively cheap and deadly.
None of the analysts The Telegraph contacted were able to comment on it. The Royal United Services Institute, a defence think tank, said on Thursday morning it was 'seeing if we've anyone to talk about this.'
By the end of the day, it had not responded, suggesting it had found no one familiar with the system.
John Healey, the Defence Secretary, announced the programme during a Nato summit in Brussels, calling it evidence of Britain's ongoing support for Ukraine against Russia.
A Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokesman added: 'The system can use Ukrainian missiles to shoot down Russian missiles and drones. It can complement Ukraine's existing air defence system, which includes anti-aircraft guns.'
The £6 million development took 18 months through the MoD's Taskforce Kindred working with classified defence contractors, defence officials said.
Each unit costs £1 million, with Denmark providing half the funding.
Two Gravehawk systems are already being used by Ukrainian forces with reported success on the front line. Britain will deliver 15 more units this fiscal year.
However, the new system may raise concerns of perfidy, or in this case the tactic of hiding weapons among civilian infrastructure, which can constitute a war crime under the Geneva Conventions.
Ukraine previously used an R-73 missile on a drone to destroy a Russian helicopter over the Black Sea in December.
While Ukraine initially sought F-16 fighters and air-to-air missiles instead, defence officials said Kyiv's forces now wanted additional Gravehawk systems after seeing their effectiveness against Russian aircraft, missiles and Iranian-made Shahed suicide drones.
The British Government has also announced a new £150 million military aid package for Ukraine. It will include tanks, artillery, air-to-air missiles and other weaponry.
Speaking at the Nato summit, Mr Healey said: '2025 is the critical year for the war in Ukraine. Ukrainians continue to fight with huge courage – military and civilians alike, and their bravery, fused with our support, has proved a lethal combination.'
He added: 'While Russia is weakened, it remains undeniably dangerous. We must step up further, and secure peace through strength, together.'
Hugh Miall, emeritus professor of international relations at the University of Kent and co-author of Contemporary Conflict Resolution, said the support would demonstrate that Ukraine was not alone, despite Donald Trump's stance.
He said: 'If [Sir Keir] Starmer is pushing in some extra military supplies and financial support at the moment, it would be about trying to put in a bit of countervailing policy – some rather different from Trump's approach...
'Other European countries need to pile on the support now to Ukraine to improve their bargaining and military position as much as possible.'
News that Britain is supplying Ukraine with the Gravehawk system came after the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, also known as the Ramstein Group, promised to supply 100 IRIS-T air defence missiles.
IRIS-Ts (infrared imaging system tail/thrust vector-controlled), a family of short-range infrared homing air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles, will also aid in Ukraine's air defence efforts.
The heat-seekers target the engines of enemy jets, the hottest part of such aircraft. The Gravehawk system is thought to work in a similar way.