World’s fastest laser-guided missile deployed to Ukraine

Ukrainian troops have completed training in the fastest anti-aircraft missile in the world that will present a severe threat to Russian aircraft, the British defence secretary has confirmed.

Ben Wallace said the advanced Starstreak weapon that travels at more than 5,000kph and is made in Belfast had been deployed into the war zone for the first time and would be used imminently against the Russian offensive.

Britain’s defence industry is benefitting significantly from the Ukraine conflict with shares soaring among companies supplying missiles and other hardware.

Ukraine’s troops are understood to have been trained in the more challenging Starstreak system via remote online learning and potentially by British instructors operating in Eastern Europe.

Unlike other surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), Starstreak, built in Northern Ireland, follows a laser beam-guidance system rather than heat-seeking that can be deterred by magnesium flares.