1 of 2 Experts say modern American F16 fighters would be Ukraine’s best defense against Russianguided bombs — Photo: Lithuanian Ministry of Defense/AP Photo Experts say modern American F16 fighters would be Ukraine’s best defense against Russianguided missiles Bombs — Photo: Lithuanian Ministry of Defense/AP Photo
Previously, guided aerial bombs were used sporadically, now they are used daily. In early April, the Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russia was firing up to 20 such bombs a day along the entire border.
“The Russians are dropping more and more of these bombs because their missile stockpiles are already running out. There are only a few left, so they started using aerial bombs, which are cheaper,” Yuriy Ihnat, spokesman for the Russian Federation, told the DW Ukrainian Air Force.
What are guided aerial bombs?
Ukrainian experts explain that there are two types of Russianguided bombs. The first of these is the UPAB1500B, which includes an inertial satellite navigation system.
In particular, the bomb should attack fixed targets on land or in the water, such as bunkers made of reinforced concrete, command posts, railway bridges and warships or transporters. These artifacts, created by Russian engineers, are of recent date, but according to experts, it is not possible to use them en masse due to the high cost of production.
The Russian army, on the other hand, is currently mostly using old highexplosive and originally unguided FABtype bombs in Ukraine that weigh 500, 1,000 kilos or 1.5 tons.
Experts estimate that these projectiles can be converted into guided bombs simply by adding wings and a GPS navigation system, making them highly accurate weapons.
Oleh Katkov, editorinchief of the Ukrainian specialized magazine Defense Express, estimates that this conversion is inexpensive and does not take much time.
This information was confirmed by the military expert of the Ukrainian Center for Security Studies Dmytro Tymchuk, Oleksandr Kovalenko.
“Such pumps, of which many are still in stock, can be produced quickly,” he says.
According to Kovalenko, Russia will be able to attack Ukraine with these old Soviet bombs for a long time to come. The expert points out that since the wings are simply soldered onto a piece of scrap iron, these artifacts are of low quality.
Antiaircraft missile systems are not enough
Aircraft capable of carrying guided bombs are Su30, Su35, Su24, Su34 fighter jets and some attack helicopters. According to Yuriy Ihnat, Russian planes stopped overflying Ukrainian territory a month after the invasion of the neighboring country began in February last year.
The Russians confine themselves to launching these guided bombs from within their territory, near the Ukrainian border, or from areas under Russian control along the battle fronts.
2 of 2 A Russian Sukhoi Su30 fighter jet flies during the military parade marking Venezuela’s Independence Day at Fort Tiuna in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday July 5, 2006. —Photo: AP Photo/Gregorio Marrero A fighter jet of Russia’s Sukhoi Su 30 flies during the military parade marking Venezuela’s Independence Day at Fort Tiuna in Caracas, Venezuela, on Wednesday, July 5, 2006. — Photo: AP Photo/Gregorio Marrero
“Russian planes manage to drop these bombs 5070 kilometers inside Ukrainian territory. The distance depends on the aircraft’s altitude and speed, and how close it is to borders or combat fronts,” he explained.
“But these planes don’t fly over the border because they know they can be shot down. The higher a plane flies, the more likely it is to be detected by our radar stations,” says the spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force.
To defend against guided bombs, Ukraine uses Sovietera antiaircraft missile systems, specifically the Buk or S300 models. However, these systems are not very effective, since it is quite difficult to intercept aerial bombs with rockets.
“Antiaircraft missiles do not hit targets directly, but instead explode in their vicinity and pierce them with shrapnel. That doesn’t normally work with an aerial bomb,” emphasized Ihnat. He says Ukraine needs modern defense systems, especially Patriot and SAMPT, to destroy these bombs.
However, Ukraine does not have enough antiaircraft systems to cover the entire length of the fronts or its borders with Russia and Belarus. In addition, these modern systems should not be placed near the combat zone, since Russian forces would immediately try to destroy them, if only for propaganda reasons, says Oleg Katkov.
“This would be the number one target for the Russians. They would use anything they have against Patriot systems,” he noted. Katkov believes that the Russians would even be willing to sacrifice their fighters just to inflict significant casualties on Ukraine.
Ukraine needs fighter jets
According to experts, the best protection of Ukraine against guided bombs would be modern American F16 fighters. “Bombs are hard to hit, so it would be easier to destroy their transporters, that is, Russian planes,” says Oleksandr Kovalenko.
“In order to be able to fight them, Ukraine needs fourthgeneration combat aircraft with a range of more than 100 kilometers, such as the F16 or the Eurofighter Typhoon and Rafale multirole combat aircraft,” explains the expert.
He was convinced that it would be impossible to protect border regions and fronts from Russian guided bombs if Ukraine could not deploy the right warplanes.