Why Russia’s Glide Bombs are Almost Impossible for Ukraine to Stop

By Michael Peck

Russia’s much-trumpeted wonder weapons have been a bust in Ukraine. “Unstoppable” hypersonic Kinzhal missiles have been intercepted by American-made Patriot missiles. Nuclear-powered Poseidon tsunami torpedoes are useless unless Putin wants to start World War III. And next-generation T-14 Armata tanks have proven so elusive that the vehicle could reasonably be renamed the Unicorn.

And yet, finally, Russia may have found a wonder weapon that works. The irony is it’s not really new. It turns out that old-fashioned dumb bombs have become Moscow’s most effective weapon.

Or, more accurately, Russia is using dumb bombs made smart via a satellite guidance kit. Ukrainian soldiers complain that their positions are being devastated by big Soviet-era iron bombs converted into precision-guided glide bombs such as 1.5-ton FAB-1500 and the new 3.4-ton FAB-3000. Lobbed from high altitude by Russian aircraft beyond the range of most Ukrainian anti-aircraft missiles, the devices are near-impossible to intercept.

The weapons contributed in large part to the recent fall of the city of Avdiivka, with buildings and fortifications being demolished. Russia has already dropped 3,500 glide bombs this year, and that deluge of explosives is likely to continue and even expand. It’s a worrying development and it’s not immediately clear that Ukraine has an easy answer.

Glide bombs date back to Nazi Germany’s Fritz-X and Hs-293 weapons, and continued with the US AGM-62 Walleye in Vietnam and Desert Storm. These weapons were too expensive for widespread use, but in the late 1990s came a game-changer: the US Joint Direct Attack Munition, or JDAM.

JDAM is actually a kit that adds GPS guidance and a steerable tail to iron bombs. At around $20,000 a time — plus a few thousand more for an iron bomb — the result is a precision-guided munition that is far cheaper and easier to manufacture than a purpose-built guided weapon such as a $100,000 HIMARS or million-dollar ATACMS rocket.

JDAM is an American concept, but it’s a perfect fit for the Russian way of war. It takes advantage of Russia’s immense stockpile of Soviet-era iron bombs. Better yet, glide bombs allow Russia’s air force to do what it has failed to do for two years: provide meaningful support to the army.

Russian aircraft have stayed behind the front lines, kept at bay by Ukrainian air defenses and too far away to accomplish more than lobbing missiles at Ukrainian cities. To achieve some kind of victory, troops need to advance. Yet they have lacked the tactical competence to do more than inch forward, and only with the help of massive fire support.

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