The United Kingdom has launched a new tactical ballistic missile project to provide the Ukrainian army with modern, high-precision weaponry. The project, dubbed “Nightfall,” is expected to give Kyiv the ability to strike strategic targets deep inside Russia.
Technical capabilities of the “Nightfall” missile
According to information released by the UK government, the new missile will have the following features:
- Strike range: more than 500 kilometers. In theory, this covers the distance from Ukraine’s border to Moscow.
- Warhead power: a 200-kilogram high-explosive warhead.
- Resilience: the missile is designed to hit targets accurately even under heavy electronic warfare (EW) and GPS jamming conditions.
- Mobility: the system follows a “shoot-and-scoot” principle, meaning the launcher can be relocated within minutes after launch.
Production and costs
A competition has been announced among three contractor companies to deliver the project. Each team has been tasked with preparing initial test prototypes within 12 months.
- Contracts: planned to be signed in March 2026.
- Price: the maximum cost per missile is expected to be about £800,000 (around $1 million).
- Scale: in the future, at least 10 such systems per month are planned to be produced.
Western restrictions and Ukraine’s response
There are currently certain restrictions on the use of ATACMS (US) and Storm Shadow (UK) missiles in Ukraine’s arsenal. Especially after the change of administration in Washington, the issue of striking Russian territory has become more complicated again. The “Nightfall” project could provide Ukraine with a freer strike capability that is less dependent on foreign export controls.
At the same time, Ukraine is also ramping up mass production of its domestic “Flamingo” (FP-5) cruise missiles with a range of up to 3,000 kilometers.
In your view, how much could the emergence of new ballistic missiles change the situation on the front line?
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