Operation Chrysalide is a secret undertaking organized by France to provide SCALP-EG air-launched land attack cruise missiles to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This effort is not mentioned anywhere on the official media sources of the French military but Radio France Internationale managed to take a closer look at how it is organized. Notably, this is the first in-depth article about how long-range attack missiles are processed and delivered to Ukraine which makes it worth particular attention.
According to the sources asked by RFI, the SCALP missiles that could be transferred to the Ukrainian forces are divided into two categories: the ones fully operational but soon to reach their end of service life, as well as the "cannibalized" ones — some of their components were removed to keep other SCALPs in the French forces in working order. The second group of missiles must undergo restoration at their home factories in Bourges, where one of facilities belonging to MBDA company is located.
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Also, all missiles need an "upgrade" taking three months to complete, although RFI journalists don't specify what kind of improvements are made, possibly speaking of necessary repairs to the dismantled ones. Then, the SCALPs are tested, but the procedure is simplified since Paris knows those will be used soon for attacks on russian targets, not just go back to storage.
Defense Express notes this detail also reveals that MBDA has already successfully reactivated the conveyors producing SCALP missiles at its factory, at least cranked up enough to be able to restore the "cannibalized" units.
A source told RFI that Paris has adopted "a very effective economic approach" because the SCALPs France is sending to Ukraine were supposed to be scrapped in the near future. Instead, they are refurbished and delivered to Ukraine at quarter the price of a newly produced missile. Simultaneously, the French Armed Forces get to replace the depleted strategic stocks with brand-new missiles, thus France's own military readiness not just remains unaffected by these provisions but even updated.
Apart from Operation Chrysalide, the French authorities are looking for opportunities to supply Ukraine with SCALPs traded with other operators of this weapon. Particularly, as noted by Polish website Polon.pl, a slightly different export version of SCALP has been acquired by India, Greece, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia since the late 1990s. One possibility in consideration at the Elysee is that those countries would hand over their old missiles nearing end of service life and get new ones in exchange.
However, RFI sources warn that exported missiles currently cannot be programmed with French computers, so a separate adaptation process needs to be done before they can be sent to Ukraine.
Lastly, the journalists recount the impact SCALP-EG and its twin Storm Shadow brought to the war between Ukraine and russia. Ukrainian Air Force used these missiles for the attack on russian military command centers in Luhansk and Sevastopol, as well as for the destruction of the Rostov-na-Donu submarine stationed at the time in a dry dock in Crimea.
On the part of Defense Express, we should also recall a confusing episode that made headlines in early March 2024 about SCALP missiles being allegedly transported inside Audi Q7 civilian cars and Ridgeback MRAP vehicles. While not true, it happened because of the wrong interpretation of a leaked conversation between Bundeswehr commanders about methods of programming these missiles, described by the terms "QCen" and "reach back."
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