Britiskproduserte Starstreak er nå på plass og klart for bruk i Ukraina. Missil-systemet kan sammenlignes med amerikanske Stinger, men flyr både fortere og går høyere.

Det bærbare våpensystemet regnes for å være svært potent. Missilene når tre ganger lydens hastighet og kan gå helt opp til 7.000 meters høyde (Stinger: 4.800 meter). Dermed er lavtflyvende jagerfly innenfor rekkevidde.

Klart til bruk

Våpensystemet er nå klart til bruk i Ukraina, ifølge den britiske forsvarsministeren Ben Wallace.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told The Mail on Sunday that the Starstreak system – a shoulder-mounted missile that travels at more than three times the speed of sound to take down low-flying enemy jets – was ready to be used imminently.

Mr Wallace said the first Ukrainian troops had been trained and were now deployed with Starstreak, adding that the UK was ‘doing more than pretty much anyone else’ to help the war-torn country. (Mail on Sunday)

Starstreak klar for utskyting i Dartmoor, England. (Wikimedia Commons)

Forårsaker «katastrofal» skade

Starstreak forårsaker «katastrofal» skade på lavtflyvende jagerfly og helikoptre, sier den britiske obersten Graham Taylor til The Times.

He said that British troops were being deployed to a secret location in eastern Europe to teach Ukrainians how to use the portable system, which launches missiles capable of travelling at more than 2,000 mph.

Starstreak deler seg i tre «darts» etter å ha blitt laserstyrt mot målet av en soldat på bakken, og er en såkalt Manpads; man-portable air-defense system, utviklet av Thales.

Det britiske forsvaret har brukt systement siden 1997, i starten montert på kjøretøy, senere også for avfyring fra skulderposisjon, ifølge Defense News. Blant brukerne av Starstreak er også Sør-Afrika og Indonesia.

– Putin har allerede tapt

Putin har allerede tapt krigen, sier forsvarsminister Wallace.

He added: ‘Putin has already lost. Putin is no longer a force in the world. Whatever he may think he’s won today, he is lost in the long run. His legacy is now one of loss.

‘He will be remembered as a man who demonstrated that his armed forces were not invincible and were, in fact, badly equipped.

‘He will be remembered by Russian mothers as a man who sent needlessly to their death thousands of young Russian men, he will be remembered as a man who instead of furthering Russia in the world has made it more isolated.

‘And he will probably live out his days being invited to the North Korean annual celebration.

‘I think, on one level, the world won’t have to fear Putin any more. He’s not a force of power.’