ELLIE COOK
Ukraine is contending with Russian-guided bombs without the ability to effectively counter the attacks, according to Ukrainian and Russian media reports.
Ukrainian air force spokesperson Yuriy Ignat has described guided, or glider bombs, as a "new threat," adding that they are used almost daily by Russian forces. Up to 20 of the guided bombs are launched each day across the front line, Ignat said last month, and they have had a "perceptible effect" in areas including the contested Donetsk region, a Kyiv Independent report said on Monday.
"This is a threat to us, and we have to urgently respond to it," Ignat told Ukrainian television.
The spokesperson said the bombs were dropped using Russia's Su-34 and Su-35 fighter jets beyond the reach of Kyiv's air defense systems. To push these jets out of range, Ignat said, Ukraine would need upgraded air defense capabilities, such as the Patriot surface-to-air missile system.
An F-16CJ from the 78th Fighter Squadron, at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina flies over the Eglin Land Range as the pilot releases a GBU-31 2,000 pound Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) during a test mission February 25, 2003. JDAM "smart" munitions have been supplied to Ukraine, which is also facing down Russian gliding bombs.
"There is nothing to get them yet, it is the planes that launch them," Ignat told Ukrainian media.
The U.S. has promised to deliver this capability to Ukraine, committing to speeding up the time it takes to get Patriots operational in Ukraine.
Russia has used adapted munitions like the KAB-500 in Ukraine including in the Sumy region, Ukraine said last month. Media in the country has previously reported that Russia has used newly developed 1,500 kilograms (3,306 lbs) guided bombs, unveiled in 2019. Ukrainian military outlet, Defense Express, said the UPAB-1500B bombs, which have a reported range of up to 25 miles, had been used earlier this year in the Chernihiv region of northern Ukraine.
The warhead of the bomb exceeds 1,000 kilograms (2,204 lbs) and the bomb uses inertial and satellite guidance to reach its target, according to Russian media. One Russian outlet reported that the UPAB-1500B can be carried by many of Russia's military aircraft, including multirole fighters and bombers.
Defense Express editor, Oleh Katkov, told The New Voice of Ukraine that the gliding bomb "can hit highly protected objects," making for a "pretty dangerous munition." Destroying the "carriers" is the "only option," he said, adding: "You should fight not with the munition, but with the bombers carrying it."
Ukraine has also received guided bombs in aid packages from the U.S., including the JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munitions), and the longer-range JDAM-ER. In March, General James Hecker, the U.S. Air Force's top commander in Europe and Africa, confirmed that Ukraine's forces were already using a limited number of JDAM-ER "smart bombs." They had been unveiled in a military aid package in December 2022.
JDAM kits create precision-guided "smart" munitions from unguided bombs, launched from a variety of aircraft. The JDAM-ERs are "highly resistant" to "widespread" jamming in Ukraine, military technology expert David Hambling previously told Newsweek.
However, leaked Pentagon documents appear to show the JDAMs have been somewhat affected by Russian jamming techniques, according to reports.
Newsweek has reached out to Russia's defense ministry for comment via email.
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