Starstreak

A British man-portable, laser-beam-riding short-range air-defense missile notable for its very high flight speed and three tungsten sub-munition darts that saturate the target's flight path. Fired from shoulder, vehicle and Stormer launchers, it has been supplied to Ukraine for use against Russian aircraft and helicopters.

In service since 1997 · 5 operator countries

Compiled from public sources ·primary reference ↗ ·last verified 2026-07-02

km range

3.5

Mach

Pricing: Unit cost not publicly disclosed

Procurement snapshot

Availability & export

UK export-licensed

Subject to UK SPIRE licensing (ECJU); generally available to allied states.

Channel: Government-to-government or direct

Fielded & proven

Established · 5 operators

In service since 1997. Status: active.

Lifecycle cost (est.)

No public unit price to model from.

Interoperability

No standardised NATO calibre / datalink detected in public specs.

Derived guidance from public data — export regime by country of origin, lifecycle from the GAO ~30% acquisition rule. Verify eligibility, pricing and offsets with the manufacturer and your acquisition authority.

Full specifications

Performance

Speed, range, altitude and engagement capability.

Max speed (Mach) Maximum speed as a multiple of the speed of sound. Mach 2+ is typical for air-superiority fighters.: 3.5 Mach

Stronger than 64% of missiles
Range Maximum distance: ferry range for aircraft, operational range for vehicles, maximum engagement distance for missiles. Higher means more standoff or persistence.: 7 km

Stronger than 12% of missiles

Firepower

Armament, payload and guidance.

Warhead type Blast-fragmentation, shaped charge (HEAT), penetrator, thermobaric or nuclear-capable.: Three kinetic-energy tungsten dart penetrators
Guidance How the weapon finds its target: inertial, GPS/GLONASS, active/semi-active radar, infrared, laser, TV, wire.: Laser beam-riding SACLOS

Physical

Dimensions, weight and crew.

Length Overall length including gun/probe where applicable.: 1.4 m
Combat weight Fully loaded weight. Lighter eases transport and bridging limits; heavier often means more armor.: 17 kg

Propulsion

Engine, power and fuel.

Propulsion type Turbofan, turboshaft, diesel, gas turbine, solid-fuel rocket, ramjet…: Solid-fuel two-stage rocket

Program

Cost, production scale and operators.

Operator countries Number of countries operating the system. More operators means broader support ecosystem.: 5

Stronger than 52% of missiles

Specifications compiled from public Thales Group and reference sources ↗. Published defense figures are approximations — treat comparisons as directional. Last verified 2026-07-02.

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