"This is the evolution of air warfare." Russia uses modernized Soviet bombs to break through air defense systems supplied by the West to Ukraine - NYT

The Russian military, experiencing problems with the breakthrough of Ukrainian air defense with the help of drones and cruise missiles, uses modernized Soviet-made bombs for this. about this The New York Times writes , citing American and Ukrainian officials.

According to them, such ammunition turned out to be practically invulnerable to modern Western air defense systems, which are in service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Experts note that the Russian military was forced to look for new ways to attack targets on Ukrainian territory after the effectiveness of Ukrainian air defense has increased significantly, thanks to the supply of modern Western systems. So, in recent months, the Ukrainian military has been able to shoot down more and more Russian kamikaze drones and cruise missiles. In some cases, the effectiveness of Ukrainian air defense reaches 100 percent.

“This is the evolution of air warfare. First they tried cruise missiles and we started shooting them down. Then they tried the drones, we started shooting them down. They are constantly looking for a solution that will allow us to hit our targets, and we are looking for a solution to prevent them, ”said Denys Smazhny, Lieutenant Colonel of the Ukrainian Air Force.

After the U.S. Patriot anti-aircraft systems were at the disposal of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, they even managed to shoot down several Russian hypersonic Kinzhal missiles, which until now Kiev itself called invulnerable to its air defense systems.

Then, for attacks on targets on Ukrainian territory, the Russian army began to increasingly use modernized Soviet-made free-falling bombs FAB-500. With the help of satellite navigation equipment installed on them and small wings, these munitions were turned into gliding corrected aerial bombs.

As the interlocutors of the publication explained, bombs dropped from aircraft are much more difficult to track by Ukrainian air defense, since such shells are in the air for only about 70 seconds.

According to Ian Williams, deputy director of the missile defense project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, such bombs are even more difficult to hit than the Dagger hypersonic missiles. “Kinzhal has a longer flight time at higher altitudes, so it is easier to detect and track,” he explained.

Such bombs are dropped from Su-34 and Su-35 aircraft over territory controlled by Russia, after which they can fly more than 30 kilometers, according to the Pentagon.

In turn, Ukrainian officials insist that Ukraine needs F-16 fighter jets to fight the new threat. In Kyiv, they claim that having received them, the Armed Forces of Ukraine will be able to prevent Russian military aircraft from flying in front-line areas.

“Attempts to intercept these bombs are ineffective, it doesn't even make sense. The only way out of this situation and the only way to stop it is to attack the planes that launch these bombs,” said Yury Ignat, spokesman for the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

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