- Category
- Latest news
Russia’s Glide Bombs Are No Longer Precise—Ukraine’s EW Jamming Sends Them Astray
- Authors
![Vlad Litnarovych]( "Vlad Litnarovych")
Russia’s glide bomb campaign is rapidly losing effectiveness as Ukraine’s electronic warfare units jam satellite guidance along the front line, Forbes reported on February 26.
The disruption has forced Russian forces to expend significantly more munitions to achieve the same results, undermining one of Moscow’s key battlefield advantages.
Just a year ago, Russian warplanes were launching around 100 glide bombs daily across Ukraine’s 800-mile front.
The satellite-guided KAB and UMPK bombs, which can glide over 25 miles to their targets, were considered a “miracle weapon” by Russian military analysts.
Ukrainian forces had little defense against the strikes, which softened defensive positions before Russian infantry assaults. Forbes stated that this tactic helped Russia capture Avdiivka and advance toward Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine.
However, as Russian forces struggle outside Pokrovsk, even Russian military bloggers admit that the effectiveness of these bombs has collapsed.
The pro-Russian Fighterbomber Telegram channel noted that Ukraine’s jamming operations are now so widespread that satellite-guided correction systems are failing across the front.
According to Forbes, Ukraine has saturated the battlefield with powerful electronic warfare systems that interfere with signals from GLONASS, Russia’s alternative to the U.S. GPS. Without continuous satellite guidance, Russian glide bombs are veering off course and often detonating harmlessly in open fields.
“All high-value targets are guaranteed to be covered by [electronic warfare],” Fighterbomber reported. As a result, Russian forces now need up to 16 bombs to reliably hit a single target. The Sukhoi fighter jets delivering these bombs are also at risk, making these strikes costly and inefficient.
-6e03694a933538fd30274c6783fb63cf.png)
This shift has forced Russia to rethink its air strategy. According to Forbes, the Ukrainian jamming has also disrupted Russian drones, forcing Moscow to use more expensive fiber-optic-controlled UAVs that are immune to radio interference.
Ukraine’s electronic warfare capabilities have proven more effective than traditional air defenses in countering Russian air power.
Forbes notes that while Ukraine’s S-300, Patriot, and SAMP/T missile systems can intercept Russian aircraft, they are too few to protect the entire front. Instead, by jamming Russia’s glide bomb guidance, Ukraine has neutralized one of Moscow’s primary offensive tools without needing to fire a single missile.
Unlike Russian bombs, Ukraine’s own Western-supplied precision munitions, such as U.S.-made JDAM glide bombs and French Hammer bombs, include backup inertial navigation systems that allow them to remain accurate even under heavy jamming.
By contrast, Russian inertial guidance systems are notoriously inaccurate, as analysts have noted in publications such as Proceedings, the journal of the U.S. Navy.
Forbes added that Ukraine, with Western support, already has a technological edge in this field—further tilting the battlefield in Kyiv’s favor.
Earlier, reports emerged that the North Atlantic Alliance launched a new initiative to develop countermeasures against Russian guided glide bombs. As part of NATO's technological innovation platform, the 15th edition of the “Innovation Challenge” is now open, focusing on detecting, intercepting, or neutralizing these airborne threats.
-521401f71bbc417d055419d71985ecaa.jpeg)
-21d0b63c17f6020e4df75f6c6f9a2f4f.jpg "Ivan Khomenko")
