Ukraine is about to receive what can reasonably be described as the best Christmas present of the war so far. At a moment when Russia believed the limits of Ukraine’s long-range strike capability were already fixed, the Czech Republic is delivering a weapon that effectively rewrites those assumptions and turns Christmas into a perfect gift for Ukraine.
A battlefield-ready Christmas gift
Prague has confirmed that it will supply Ukraine with its newly developed MTS Narwhal long-range cruise missile for real combat testing, with the first missiles scheduled to arrive between January and February 2026. According to Czech and international reports, these initial deliveries are not symbolic, as the missile is expected to enter serial production as early as March 2026, provided that battlefield trials validate its performance.
New angle in the strike triangle
The Narwhal is a jet-powered cruise missile developed by the Czech company LPP. It has a stated range of 680 kilometers, a top speed of roughly 750 kilometers per hour, and a 120 kilogram warhead, placing it firmly in the deep-strike category rather than among conventional tactical battlefield weapons. Its most important technical feature is its navigation architecture.
This combines inertial guidance with visual terrain-matching systems designed to remain effective under heavy Russian GPS jamming, a defining feature of the current war. In practical terms, this places Narwhal closer in philosophy to the German Taurus missile than to the Ameriacan Atacms.
Not another ATACMS — and not quite a Taurus
Taurus similarly emphasizes low-level penetration and guidance resilience, while offering a range of roughly 500 kilometers compared to ATACMS’ 300 kilometers. Compared to Taurus, however, the Czech missile is lighter and carries a smaller warhead. This points to an infrastructure-disabling role rather than deep bunker destruction, placing it in the same strategic strike niche as ATACMS.
At the same time, ATACMS relies on GPS-aided inertial guidance and follows a ballistic path, while Narwhal trades kinetic speed for survivability against electronic warfare. It does so by flying low and navigating independently, filling a new role in Ukraine’s strike planning, forcing Russia’s air defenses around Narwhal and ATACMS targets to adapt to two entirely different strike profiles.
What Narwhal brings to Ukraine’s strike table
The impact is significant because a 680-kilometer range dramatically expands the list of Russian rear-area targets that Ukraine can threaten from well inside its own territory. This range is sufficient to place major strategic command facilities under constant risk, forcing Russia to either disperse assets or invest heavily in additional air defense. The 120-kilogram warhead is large enough to destroy aircraft on open ramps, ignite fuel and ammunition storages, and cripple infrastructure critical to sustaining frontline operations, which directly translates into operational pressure for Russia; much of it still placed out in the open as bunker construction efforts have stalled.
Most importantly, the missile is built around the reality that Russia’s strongest defensive tool is no longer air defense alone, but layered GPS jamming, and Narwhal is explicitly designed to keep flying when satellite navigation is degraded or denied.
Why Ukraine is the perfect test ground
Ukraine’s willingness to accept the Narwhal for combat testing is not a coincidence, as Ukrainian forces have repeatedly demonstrated that they are prepared to test new Western systems while actively defending in the full-scale war against Russia. From long-range rockets and cruise missiles to air defense and frontline systems, Ukraine has shown that real battlefield feedback can compress years of development into months, revealing weaknesses that no test range can simulate. By agreeing to trial the Narwhal in real combat, Ukraine will employ the missile against Russian targets to generate feedback for Czech developers. Once the missile enters production, some of it may go to Ukraine in return for its invaluable contribution, while allowing the system to be continuously improved as it is produced.
A European-made answer to modern warfare
Overall, this delivery stands out as the best Christmas present, in the form of a long-range missile built for the kind of electronic warfare environment Russia relies on, with Ukrainians looking to test it against the most valuable targets to generate feedback for its developers. Its arrival effectively means that a Czech Atacams and Taurus equivalent has entered the war, giving Ukraine a new deep-strike option without the political bottlenecks that have limited other systems. Militarily, it forces Russia to rethink the safety of its rear areas and shift resources away from the front to protect assets that were once considered out of reach. Strategically, it signals that European states are no longer just donating existing stockpiles, but are actively shaping the future battlefield by introducing entirely new weapons through Ukraine.
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