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 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.
Geniuses, just tell the world how we’re hiding them. Fucking idiots.
Edit: I posted this in frustration wanting the best for the Ukrainians. I see now thanks to insightful replies that there is more to it. Thanks and Slava Ukranini.
Not sure how impactful the camouflage aspect is, but being able to turn virtually any truck into a missile-launcher is a pretty neat thing. No need to buy expensive specialiced vehicles.
Why the fuk do we telegraph what we are doing or sending? Does “loose lips sink ships” not apply anymore?
People are missing the point.
The container is not primarily for “hiding” them.
It is about putting it on a very widely adapted platform. Just like wooden pallets we all know and love.
Being pre-installed in a standard-sized ISO container makes it very easy to mount it on literally any truck trailer that can transport them.
Well, don’t announce it like that. C’mon, man
I swear ace combat is turning from an arcade game into a simulator
I do like modular warfare.
With a sweet name too!
I mean you could even put these on a remote controlled container ship off the russian coast in the black sea and take out a juicy target flying over it. Cut off the russian air bridge to syria and africa
This technology isn’t anything new. YouTube “club-k container missile system”
They’re going to need to put some ceramic tile for heat dissipation or this is going to be a very short lived system
I hope they somehow make that container look like Ukrainian armed forces equipment because the Russians will just use that as an excuse to bomb civilians.
But why disclose it?
Russia has those too. Look up Club-K Kalibr launcher.
6m or 12m container?
It’s not hidden it’s an economic solution in shipping and handling
19 comments
**From The Telegraph:**
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](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/02/13/zelensky-do-not-do-ukraine-deal-behind-my-back/), 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](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/02/14/watch-russian-drone-blows-hole-chernobyl-protective-shell/) 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.
**Read more here:** [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/02/14/britain-ukraine-war-gravehawk-missiles-russia-air-defence/](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/02/14/britain-ukraine-war-gravehawk-missiles-russia-air-defence/)
Nice.
Geniuses, just tell the world how we’re hiding them. Fucking idiots.
Edit: I posted this in frustration wanting the best for the Ukrainians. I see now thanks to insightful replies that there is more to it. Thanks and Slava Ukranini.
Not sure how impactful the camouflage aspect is, but being able to turn virtually any truck into a missile-launcher is a pretty neat thing. No need to buy expensive specialiced vehicles.
Why the fuk do we telegraph what we are doing or sending? Does “loose lips sink ships” not apply anymore?
People are missing the point.
The container is not primarily for “hiding” them.
It is about putting it on a very widely adapted platform. Just like wooden pallets we all know and love.
Being pre-installed in a standard-sized ISO container makes it very easy to mount it on literally any truck trailer that can transport them.
Well, don’t announce it like that. C’mon, man
I swear ace combat is turning from an arcade game into a simulator
I do like modular warfare.
With a sweet name too!
I mean you could even put these on a remote controlled container ship off the russian coast in the black sea and take out a juicy target flying over it. Cut off the russian air bridge to syria and africa
This technology isn’t anything new. YouTube “club-k container missile system”
They’re going to need to put some ceramic tile for heat dissipation or this is going to be a very short lived system
I hope they somehow make that container look like Ukrainian armed forces equipment because the Russians will just use that as an excuse to bomb civilians.
But why disclose it?
Russia has those too. Look up Club-K Kalibr launcher.
6m or 12m container?
It’s not hidden it’s an economic solution in shipping and handling
Nice!!!!
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