Ukraine is developing a precision-guided aerial bomb to strike Russian targets more effectively. The first model is expected to be tested in a few weeks, the chief of aviation of Air Force Command Serhii Golubtsov told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. “We are also currently working on the conversion and creation of our modified aerial bombs, based on ordinary free-falling ones,” the outlet quoted Golubtsov as saying. “There are some constructive nuances, you need to choose a wing, a GPS module, as well as a control module.”
A bolt-on GPS-aided navigation system is required to turn an unguided bomb into a guided one. A guided bomb can be released from a safer distance and is harder to intercept than those that are unguided. Some conversion kits, known as the Joint Direct Attack Munition, were delivered by the US to Ukraine last year. Their impact, however, was muted due to the employment of electronic jamming by the Russians.
Meanwhile, Russia has been pounding Ukrainian positions with guided bombs. Russia deployed the bombs extensively in its Kharkiv offensive and reportedly used them to good effect in the capture of Avdiivka in February. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said last month that Moscow’s forces are dropping about 3,000 glide bombs on Ukrainian targets every month. He acknowledged the shortage of anti-aircraft missiles to effectively counter the bombs, and urged partners to raise the number of Patriot systems in Ukraine to seven.
