Powerful Russian Glide Bombs Terror Over Ukraine – OpEd
By Patial RC
The attacks in the war-torn Donetsk region have prompted a scaled-up evacuation effort by Ukrainian rescue services. Local officials said that powerful Russian glide bombs have been used. President Zelensky said (01 July) that Russia had dropped more than 800 glide bombs in Ukraine in the past week alone and he wrote in an online post; “Ukraine needs the necessary means to destroy the carriers of these bombs, including Russian combat aircraft, wherever they are. This step is essential.”
Russia has accelerated its destruction of Ukraine’s front-line cities in 2024 to a scale previously unseen in the war using the glide bombs and an expanding network of airstrips, according to an Associated Press analysis of drone footage, satellite imagery, Ukrainian documents and Russian photos. Russia has experimented with these glide bombs against Ukrainian front lines in the past few months with considerable success.
President Zelensky called on countries assisting Ukraine to further relax restrictions on using Western weapons to strike military targets inside Russia. “Clear decisions are needed to help protect our people,” he said. “Long-range strikes and modern air defense are the foundation for stopping the daily Russian terror. I thank all our partners who understand this.” UK Prime minister Keir Starmer recently met President Biden in the White House but they could not arrive at a decision to allow Ukraine to use western weapons for deep strikes into Russia.
Western Media on Russian Glide Bombs:
“Russia’s glide bombs devastating Ukraine’s cities on the cheap.” (BBC – 19 May 2024)
“Russian Glide Bombs: Cheap, Deadly and Almost Unstoppable.” (Wall Street Journal– 20 June 2024).
“How Ukraine can defeat Russian glide bombs.” The most practical counter to glide bombs is to destroy the launching aircraft — on the ground or in the air. (Defence News-27 Jun 2024)
“Russia’s devastating glide bombs keep falling on its own territory.” (The Washington Post -01 July 2024).
“Why Russia’s Glide Bombs Are So Hard for Ukraine to Stop” (The Wall Street Journal-YouTube)
Russia’s Powerful Glide Bombs
These glide bombs are large Soviet-era munitions “Dumb Bombs” to be dropped on a target. Russia initially adapted this large inventory of unguided bombs to modern warfare by retrofitting them with guidance systems known as Universal Gliding and Correction Module (UMPK) — with pop-out wings and navigation systems.
The Russian Defense Ministry and state media published footage (July 13 and 14) showing a FAB-3000 M-54 bomb being loaded onto a Sukhoi Su-34 strike fighter. Russian Air Force personnel then fit the bomb with a UMPK. This was introduced in early 2023 and is an inexpensive kit that turns free-fall bombs into guided glide bombs that can be launched from outside the range of most Ukrainian air defense systems. Russia initially employed the UMPK with FAB-500 M-62 high-explosive bombs but later also adapted it for use with various other bombs ranging from 250 to 1,500 kilograms in size.
The FAB-3000 M-54 carries a massive 1,400 kilograms of explosives. The Russian Air Force frequently uses UMPK strikes to destroy buildings serving as Ukrainian defensive positions, helping Russian ground troops move forward. Russia is currently believed to be launching around 3,500 glide bombs per month!
According to Ukrainian and Russian sources, UMPK-equipped FAB-500 bombs have a maximum range of 60 to 70 kilometers. But TASS, citing a Russian defense industry source, claimed the UMPK-equipped FAB-3000 has a maximum range of 50 to 60 kilometers. Russians are now working on an improved version of the UMPK with a longer range and better accuracy. The aircraft carrying Glide bombs’ is vulnerable to enemy fire as they must bring them to a close range of their target to be released.
Russia is constructing new airstrips within 100 kilometers from Ukraine and launching the bombs routinely from multiple bases just inside Russian borders, according to the AP analysis of satellite pictures and photos from a Russian aviation Telegram channel. In all, the DeepStateMap shows 51 bases used by Russia within 600 kilometers of Ukrainian-controlled territory, including three in occupied eastern Ukraine, six in the illegally annexed peninsula of Crimea, and 32 in Russia.
How Ukraine can Defeat Russian Glide Bombs
The most practical counter to glide bombs is to destroy the launching aircraft — on the ground or in the air. This can be done by employing a mix of tactical missiles, air-to-air capabilities and electronic warfare.
Ukraine is skillfully using tactical missiles and drones against ground targets. In June, Ukraine fired at least 70 of its own drones against a faraway Russian airfield, believed to have destroyed possibly three aircraft configured to launch glide bombs.
Under recently relaxed US policy, Ukraine can fire Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, at forces in Russia that are attacking or about to attack Ukraine.
Although Ukraine’s F-16s will be older, they will have many modern electronics. This may include Link 16, a NATO-standard system to exchange tactical data. Flying over Ukraine at a safe distance, the AEW&C aircraft could vector F-16s to targets.
Electronic warfare offers the best way to defeat glide bombs, by confusing their GLONASS or GPS satellite navigation systems. Electronic warfare works better against some systems than others. To protect critical infrastructure, Ukraine would need powerful jammers to block satellite signals over a wide expanse.
Zelensky said; “The greatest strategic advantage Russia has over Ukraine is its advantage in the sky…This is missile and bomb terror that helps Russian troops advance on the ground.” It is clear from President Zelensky’s statement that as the Russian glide bomb continues to glide to destroy Ukrainian targets the demand for western countermeasures will keep increasing.
Source:
- The Russian Defense Ministry
- Internet News Items
