Three British companies have taken steps toward completing development of long-range strike systems for Ukraine. Under Project BRAKESTOP, which is run by the British MoD, they are developing “one-way effectors” that can be used independently of US approvals. Ukraine’s strikes against Russia’s industry are gathering momentum, but successful strikes remain challenging.
By Sam Cranny-Evans, editor of Calibre Defence, published on June 22, 2026.
The three companies developing one-way effectors for Ukraine are MBDA, MGI Engineering, and Rotron Aerospace, all of which have issued their own press releases. The goal of Project BRAKESTOP is to increase Ukraine’s freedom of action when it comes to long-range strikes by developing and procuring weapons that are easier to gift to Ukraine than high-end western systems. According to the British MoD, they are required to have at least 500 km range at a speed exceeding 600 km/h.
The problem that the UK, through Taskforce Kindred, is hoping to address, is the need for US approvals before long-range strikes against Russia. This has caused multiple issues in the past, with Russian forces left unmolested to assemble on the other side of the border before incursions into the Kharkiv region in 2024, for instance. Outside of immediate tactical concerns, Ukraine’s hands were also tied in terms of strikes on Russia’s oil and defence infrastructure.
According to unnamed UK officials interviewed by the FT, the goal is to give the UK freedom in what it can and cannot gift to Ukraine. “We don’t want [permission to use the weapons] to depend on how some negotiations are going,” another said.
Now, however, through domestic production and some long-range system like StormShadow, Ukraine’s campaign is beginning to increase the pressure on Russia. Most importantly, Kyiv is now free to target infrastructure that matters, without having to await US approval to use American weapons.
This is good news for Ukraine as that pressure is adding up and is likely shaping Russian decision-making. This does not mean that Russia is on the verge of collapse, only that Ukraine’s strikes are having an effect. Especially because it is deliberately targeting the suppliers into specific missile systems, which is likely to have a compounding effect in terms of missile output.
This is the context that Project BRAKESTOP feeds into. Put very simply, it offers the promise of additional weapons that can be used in Ukraine’s strikes. If it delivers, it will add useful capability and mass to Ukraine’s campaigns, complicating Russia’s air defence options. But that does not guarantee success.
The announcements
The MBDA Crossbow one-way effector being launched during a flight test for Project BRAKESTOP. Credit: MBDA.
The most recent announcements, made between June 20 and 22, cover a recent industry event held for Project BRAKESTOP, and reveal that all three systems have been flight-tested. Production is expected by the end of 2026, with all three competitors expected to ramp up their industrial activities supporting the programme into 2027.
Project BRAKESTOP started with 27 vendors and a pitch session, which then led to six companies receiving design and build contracts in early 2025. By December 2025, only three contractors remained who then progressed to flight-testing. They were:
MBDA’s Crossbow
MGI Engineering with its TigerShark
And Rotron Aerospace and the SkyLance.
All three effectors are required to carry a 225 kg warhead that has been specifically developed for the project by another, unnamed company. Additionally, “Phase 2 contracts worth around £15 million have been awarded to multiple suppliers to further develop and produce 15 improved effectors each, alongside launchers and support vehicles,” the MoD states.
A core part of the requirements for Project BRAKESTOP is cost. Each effector is required to come in at less than £400,000 without the warhead, which is supplied separately. The competitors are also required to produce at least 20 of their systems per month, within months of a contract award.
With flight testing across all three weapons presumably successful, the companies will now continue development and refinement. Further flight tests are planned, with some happening in Ukraine.
Specifications
The available specifications for the three selected systems are provided in the table below. Note that some offer greater range, whilst others maximise payload or balance for speed. The UK and Ukraine now have a range of options, or could pick all three, balancing their capabilities.
Specification
TigerShark
SkyLance
Crossbow
Range
900 km
1,200 – 2,700 km
>800 km
Speed
750 km/h
600 – 650 km/h
>600 km/h
Propulsion
High speed jet engine with rail launch
A propeller-driven system launched via a rocket-assisted takeoff.
Turbojet Jet Engine
Guidance
Auterion EW-Resistant Waypoint Autonomous Nav
GNSS CRPA + Optical Flow/Map Matching
Sovereign In-House Visual Navigation
Payload
225 kg with composite construction allowing high cruise speed.
Modular allowing lighter 100 kg warheads for greater range.
Up to 300 kg.
Calibre comment: Will Project BRAKESTOP succeed?
The SkyLance missile during its 2026 test flight. Credit: Rotron Aerospace.
The complicating factor for Project BRAKESTOP is not the technology being developed, but Russia’s air defences and the country’s sheer size. First to the air defence, Russia’s layered air defence network is proving very effective at blunting Ukraine’s strikes. In well-defended areas it can have a very high interception rate against drones and is even intercepting up to 50% of the western cruise missiles that Ukraine has available. Ukraine has still enjoyed some success, but the planning and cost required to achieve it are extensive. Project BRAKESTOP will essentially add more of the same in terms of effector type, but at potentially greater scale. This may help Ukraine achieve more successful strikes in the long run, which will further increase the pressure on the Russian defence industry. However, other UK efforts like Project NIGHTFALL, which seeks to develop a low-cost ballistic missile could add a much more survivable layer to Ukraine’s strike campaign.
The second factor is distance. Some portions of Russia’s defence industry are more than 2,000 km from Ukraine, which puts those entities beyond the reach of Project BRAKESTOP’s solutions. Not all elements are beyond reach, and there are certainly many targets. But the relatively slow travel speeds mean that there is theoretically some time for Russia to react to any launch. As a result, Ukraine must carefully plan its strikes to avoid air defences en route and maximise its chances of success. This is nothing new for a long-range strike campaign, but for a one-way effector travelling 1,200 km and 600 km/h, the adversary has some time to detect and track it. It is unlikely that it is within BRAKESTOP’s ability to address this challenge, but adding mass to the strike campaigns should at least increase the chances of an effector actually reaching its target.
Read on:
The lead image shows the test-launch of a TigerShark one-way effector. Credit: MGI Engineering.