Ukrainian guided bombs are reality: what’s needed to scale up production?

Russia is terrorizing Ukraine with all types of weapons at its disposal. Guided glide aerial bombs are among the deadliest and most horrific types of these weapons. Ukraine is seeking both effective ways to counter these sinister bombs and is working on creating its own high-precision means of striking the enemy. The enemy deserves retribution—and we can see that it is already beginning to receive it, thanks to innovative solutions from Ukrainian weapons engineers.

Currently, a number of Ukrainian private companies are working on creating new models of guided glide aerial bombs. Primarily, this involves upgrading serial high-explosive aerial bombs with aerodynamic surfaces and guidance systems to improve accuracy. Such models exist in NATO countries. The best example is the American JDAM kits, which turn free-fall bombs into high-precision glide bombs. Russia copied this solution and has scaled it up as much as possible during the war against Ukraine. We, however, are following our own path—creating our own designs and using Western guided aerial bombs, so to speak, putting them “on the wing” already in flight over our land.

Guided aerial bombs and enemy superiority: what Russia uses today

The active use of guided aerial bombs has become a significant element of enemy superiority at the tactical level. There were periods when Russian aviation used more than 900 guided aerial bombs in a single week along the front line and for strikes on civilian targets. Later, the peak usage statistics in 2024 jumped to 4,000 guided aerial bombs per month. In 2025, Russia plans to produce more than 70,000 such guided aerial bombs, equipping Soviet high-explosive bombs (including FAB-250, FAB-500, FAB-1500) with planning and correction modules.

Hammer and others: what the West provides Ukraine with

The Ukrainian Air Force uses guided aerial bombs produced in the West. In particular, these are American GBU-39 and GBU-62 bombs equipped with JDAM kits. Ukraine also receives French Armement Air-Sol Modulaire (AASM) bombs, also known as Hammer. However, the supply of such weapons from the U.S. and France to our Air Force is currently much less than the real daily needs of our military. While Russia manufactures and uses tens of thousands of planning and correction modules per year, supplies from our allies are measured in the hundreds.

For example, last year France was supposed to supply Ukraine with 830 Hammer bombs. In 2025, deliveries of 1,200 units are expected.

The U.S., for its part, is not planning to announce new military aid packages for Ukraine. Therefore, relying on our own aviation weapons is no less important for Ukraine than the production of drones, cruise, and ballistic missiles.

JDAM bombs as prototype: searching for Ukraine's own solutions

Back in June 2024, a year ago, the head of aviation for the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Serhiy Holubtsov, stated in an interview with Radio Liberty’s Donbas Realities project that “we are working on upgrading and creating our own guided aerial bombs based on conventional free-fall bombs. There are some design nuances: we need to select the wing, GPS module, and control module. In a few weeks, we should start the first tests of the first batches of such bombs, already Ukrainian-made.”

At least eight companies in Ukraine are currently creating glide bombs to increase the scale of our air strikes against the enemy. However, as of now, none of the Ukrainian models of aviation weapons are being mass-produced.

Experts from the Defense Information Consortium spoke with Oleh Vostrykh, a representative of one of our private teams developing solutions for the Air Force similar to the American JDAM or the Russian planning and correction module.

In the American version, JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munition) is a GPS-based guidance kit that turns unguided aerial bombs into all-weather, high-precision munitions. The kit consists of a block with satellite and inertial navigation systems, steering fins, and a digital control system. The kits can be attached to aerial bombs of various weights. The cost of one kit is about $30,000-$40,000.

If a bomb equipped with a JDAM system is dropped from a plane, its glide range under ideal conditions is about 80 km. The JDAM kit guides the bomb along the optimal trajectory for maximum target effectiveness. The accuracy is quite high, with a probable circular error of no more than 6 meters. However, under electronic warfare conditions, the effectiveness of satellite navigation systems is significantly reduced, and thus accuracy drops. This has forced both Americans and Europeans to improve their kits to enhance the resilience of the “brains” of these bombs.

Before testing: what’s needed for launch and scaling

According to Oleh Vostrykh, a representative of the Design Bureau, the Ukrainian guided glide bomb should be no worse than Western solutions.

“We are actually the only design bureau in Ukraine working with 500-kilogram aerial bombs. The basis of our solution is a modular kit with wings, guidance, and control systems for such a bomb.

The planning and control module for the 500 kg bomb is our own development. The wings are designed to be easily attached to the bomb—no problems, just a few minutes. Domestic enterprises are involved in production. We have our own navigation module, but we are now considering testing a new development from a leading French company on our product to ensure maximum invulnerability and resilience under electronic warfare conditions. However, there are still some components we have to import.

The principle of use is clear. The plane climbs, approaches the line of contact, drops the bomb, turns away, and the enemy’s air defense doesn’t have time to ‘catch’ the plane, but the drop is already done. The bomb glides for 60 kilometers and hits the designated target. These are the requirements set by the military, based on a joint decision between our design bureau and the Ministry of Defense.

Our design bureau includes specialists in various fields: programmers, electronics experts, mathematicians, all working to ensure the bomb can fly up to 80 km. With a drop altitude of 10 km, the range can be up to 100 km. But tactics will determine everything.

Other specialists are involved in testing and are working to launch the development into mass production as soon as possible.

We are currently at the testing stage. Test drops have been carried out from a Su-24 in level flight. They gave positive results, particularly regarding range and the bomb’s drop and planning system. We need to conduct up to ten more tests, which will be reviewed by the Ministry of Defense before they approve the product.

The demand from the Ukrainian military is significant—at least 100 such bombs per day. But for now, the main problem for moving quickly is money. The design bureau has a Charitable Fund for Advanced Technologies that is raising funds to complete the testing cycle. We are looking for any opportunity because the cost of one such product is about 1,200,000 hryvnias, or about $25,000.”

In fact, today, funding is perhaps the main limiting factor for completing work on this project in its current version before starting mass production.

Su-25, MiG-29, and GBU: Western arsenal under our wing

As already mentioned, today the Ukrainian Air Force is actively using guided aerial bombs produced in the West, including American GBU-39 and GBU-62 bombs equipped with JDAM kits, as well as French AASM/Hammer bombs.

The smallest of these are the compact guided GBU-39/B Small Diameter Bombs (SDB), weighing 130 kg. The bomb’s design includes wings that deploy in flight, allowing a range of up to 110 km. The bomb’s electronics allow it to be programmed in flight; the pilot can enter target coordinates and choose the detonation type—airburst or contact.

As also noted, since early 2024, France has been supplying Ukraine with its version of bomb guidance modules called HAMMER. The basic version consists of a nose module with a guidance system and a tail module with a rocket booster.

The basic HAMMER is designed for a 250-kg bomb. The stated maximum range is up to 70 km. However, the manufacturer also mentions versions for 125, 500, and 1,000 kg bombs, equipped with hybrid navigation systems.

To use Western high-precision GBU and HAMMER bombs, the Ukrainian Air Force has adapted Soviet combat aircraft. Their weight allows them to be used on MiG-29 and Su-27 fighters. HAMMER bombs have also been adapted for Ukrainian Su-25 attack aircraft and are used from Mirage aircraft supplied to Ukraine. Of course, the GBU-39 is also used from F-16s.

It should be remembered that the range of glide bombs depends on the drop conditions.

For example, when dropped from an altitude of 15 km and at supersonic speed, the GBU-39 achieves a record range of up to 137 km. However, in practice, our aircraft use this high-precision weapon from much lower altitudes to minimize time in the enemy’s air defense zone. For example, the Air Force can now use the GBU-39 in a lofting mode, with a maximum range of about 40 km. In this sense, HAMMER kits with rocket engines have certain advantages. But again, the launch altitude limits the maximum range claimed by the manufacturer. In other words, combat realities will affect the practical launch range of both Western and Ukrainian glide bombs.

This material was prepared in cooperation with the Defense Information Consortium (CDI), a project that unites Ukrainian analytical and research organizations and aims to strengthen information support and analytical provision in the field of national security, defense, and geopolitics.