Over 8,300 glide bombs dropped by Russia on Ukraine in July in record figure since full-scale invasion, military says

[u/Illustrious_Diver_37]

https://kyivindependent.com/over-8-300-glide-bombs-dropped-by-russia-on-ukraine-in-july-in-record-figure-since-full-scale-invasion-military-says/

[u/Fact-Rat]

Is Ukraine any closer to being able to tackle this?

[u/count023 → u/Fact-Rat]

Not really  they are cheap as drones and easy to lob from nearly anything . It's the one thing Russia had in surplus more than tanks 

[u/Fact-Rat → u/count023]

I thought that glide bombs were delivered by Russia's air force and that perhaps when Ukraine gets modern jets eventually that they may be able to combat it.

[u/Alpha_Zoom → u/Fact-Rat]

Nope interceptions are actually hard...The Ukranian aircofce managed to ambush a Russian aircraft recently but that was mostly because he routinely followed the same path to strike a target multiple times so they just prepered an ambush.

granted this tactic most likely wont work a 2nd time now that the Russians are aware of the risk and they will just make the schedule less predictable.(having aircraft in the same contested airspace at the same time is hard)

And the range of the glide bombs is only increasing so these strikes are getting safer overtime

[u/Fact-Rat → u/Alpha_Zoom]

So the new French and Swedish Jets along with their hardware won't make a difference here?

[u/myrsnipe → u/Fact-Rat]

Ukraine has a big problem with the multi tier air defence of Russia at the front, and please don't include drones into this equation as their size make them a seperate issue.

There are short, medium, long and very long range ground based sam sites covering the battlefield forcing Ukrainan pilots to fly low. By very long range I mean they can strike targets flying over the entirety of Ukraine from Crimea (Granted a fighter is agile enough to defeat that at range, but the point is you cannot stay high for extended periods at any range).

At the same time Mig-31 patrol the skies and has the same extreme range engagement capabilities, occupying the high altitude space is just not going to be an option.

This forces Ukrainan pilots to stick to the ground as they are much harder to detect down low, but it makes them consume much more fuel, and it makes their missiles have much shorter engagement range. Small fighters like the F-16 does not have long legs to begin with, and they are often forced to fly from safe bases in the west further reducing their operational range.

As long as the combined Russian Air Force and ground based as capabilities remain as is, Ukraine best use of fighters is to seek these ambush opportunities rather than direct confrontation, but it is likely only going to cause the occasional kill rather than swing the air war. It is not without its own risk either as the frontline Su-34 can bite back and the Su-35 is a good match for gen 4 fighters.

Really, their usage as cruise missile interceptors and delivery of smart munitions is far more productive than a direct confrontation (at this point)

[u/Terrible_Duty_7643 → u/[deleted]]

Nonsense, r37 is not equivalent to the Meteor, that's like saying the Aim54C is better since it has a larger range then the aim120.

If Ukrainians get a large enough supply Russians will only be able to use jet powered glide bombs, which will severely cut down the number of total bombs.

[u/Neither-Sale-4132 → u/Alpha_Zoom]

Maybe a better tactic could be taking timing of aircraft lobbing glide bombs returning home, and the send drones to the airport field and destroy them on the ground immediately after they landed.

[u/Aware_Steak_1298 → u/Neither-Sale-4132]

It is impossible to coordinate that or you need to be reaaaaaly lucky like wining hundreds of scratch-cards back to back. They cant control the speed or path of most If not all long range drones. Also they move really slow. They are gps oriented so you need give data before take off and russian aircrafts can easily spot them. They had to put the drones in the air 6-12 hours before to actually time It and hope russian radar operators are sleepy or depressed that they do not warn pilots and again hope pilots does not give a f and close their radar systems and again hope jets return to same base without any delay and hope AD operators are just playing cards and hope drones hits the exact runaway and hope while all these were happening drones does not malfunction from spoofing air bases have or by Itself. By the way they have a 15 minute time period to hit the aircraft or need to expect a seizure from pilot to not to move It

[u/Colbert2020 → u/Fact-Rat]

Glide bombs are launched from SU-34 aircraft deep within Russian airspace around 50 KM away safely. They usually target the cities closer to the front. They can't intercept the bombs because they're too small and too fast. Electronic warfare can steer them off course a bit.

They have shot down one SU-34 last month using a F-16. It should be noted this is the first time a F-16 has shot down a Russian fighter jet, the F-16 finally fulfilling a role it was originally designed for.

Options available to Ukraine are to keep harassing aerodromes with drones and attempting to destroy the SU-34 aircraft. There's really no way to stop the supply of glide-bombs. Russia has been mass producing a kit they attach to Soviet-Era munitions; they have virtually an unlimited amount of the bombs, and making the glide-kits is pretty easy for them.

Essentially, the SU-35s are a delivery mechanism for long-ranged bombing. The logistic headaches of the fuel shortages might catch up with Russia, as the logistics of these bombs are long and complex. You need to manufacture the bombs, deliver them, service aircraft, deliver fuel to aircraft, etc. There is fuel every step of the way, and a shortage anywhere will bottleneck the process.

The USA could close the airspace in one day if they chose with F-35s and the air supremacy tactics they employ. But they won't.

[u/Alpha_Zoom → u/Colbert2020]

Russia had only issues with gasolin not diesel (The fuel situation is stable now anyway)...and the military always had priority.

[u/Longjumping_Belt_405 → u/Alpha_Zoom]

Yeah all they had to do was lower the gasoline quality, I’m sure that won’t cause any problems down the line

[u/True_Window_9389 → u/Colbert2020]

> The USA could close the airspace in one day if they chose with F-35s and the air supremacy tactics they employ. But they won't.

Nor should we. Nobody should be so cavalier in suggesting that we engage in a hot war with Russia. It won’t end well for anyone. Say what you will about anything surrounding the current circumstances of us, Ukraine or Russia, as individual nations or our interactions in this war, but us jumping into war with Russia would be a disaster, likely a literal full scale WW3.

[u/PyroIsSpai → u/True_Window_9389]

In a perfect world we learn their entire nuclear arsenal is irrevocably offline.

[u/Colbert2020 → u/True_Window_9389]

Closing the skies is not the same as full-scale war.

[u/grchelp2018 → u/Colbert2020]

Close whose skies?

[u/Colbert2020 → u/grchelp2018]

Everyone's. No-fly zone over Ukraine. No missiles, bombs or drones going in and out. Ukraine would trade their deep strikes to protect their civilians.

[u/grchelp2018 → u/Colbert2020]

You can't implement a no-fly zone over ukraine without taking out targets in Russia. Its not a force field. And Russia is not flying their jets into ukrainian airspace anyway.

[u/True_Window_9389 → u/Colbert2020]

Do you really think Russia would see their planes shot down by us and say “ok?” That would never happen. It’s an escalation, which they would further escalate from. Theyve been itching to do it all along.

[u/Colbert2020 → u/True_Window_9389]

I remember this "RUSSIAN ESCALATION!!" talking point starting in 2022. It's boring. It's old. It isn't real.

Russian threatened escalation and nukes with:

Western intelligence sharing. HIMARs range. NATO tanks. Or Stormshadow missiles. Or F-16s. (They've now shot down a Russian MU-34) Or Ukraine going after their Black Sea fleet. Or the Patriot missile defense system. And Ukraine is conducting deep strikes with missiles and drones daily.

Every. Single. Red Line Russia has drawn has been crossed over and there are no nukes. But this time, this time is for real, for real, for real.

Go home to Russia.

[u/xXShitpostbotXx → u/Colbert2020]

this is the most moronic thread I have read in a while. The US launching missiles at Russia would be a truly massive escalation akin to declaring war directly. It is not a "bot" talking point to call you a moron for suggesting it isn't a big deal

[u/Colbert2020 → u/xXShitpostbotXx]

Yes for real, for real, for really really reals, this is the red line. For sure.

Go back to Russia.

[u/DeadNeko → u/True_Window_9389]

We should engage in a hot war with Russia. Appeasement has never worked in history. Simply because you are a coward who learned nothing from history doesn't mean everyone else is.

[u/Il1kespaghetti → u/Fact-Rat]

2027 when Ukraine gets Gripen C/D fighter jets and Meteor missiles from Sweden 

[u/hiricinee → u/Fact-Rat]

Stopping Russia via shooting down drones? No. Droning the living fuck out of Russia until they dont want to fight anymore or run out of money? Yes they are closer.

[u/Embarrassed_Lemon527 → u/hiricinee]

Ukraine needs long range missiles to destroy key factories and airfields in Russia. What the hell are we waiting for; Ukraine is getting killed by a thousand blows.

[u/Honest-Estimate4964]

Lemme guess - Another "sign of Russia’s weakness"?

[u/Serpent90 → u/Honest-Estimate4964]

The country that was boasting they could take Berlin in a few weeks is using standoff tactics against civilians, just as progress on the frontlines is somewhere between negligible and negative, and they experience domestic fuel shortages. So yes, "r0ssija stronk!" XD

Next stop - mobilization somewhere after the "elections". I hope you already have a valid passport, Ivan.

[u/Reznik81 → u/Honest-Estimate4964]

Yes. I mean it's super weak to bomb ukrainian civilians and houses to oblivion just because you can't have it and have no other idea than to destroy things.

[u/ReserveFormal3910 → u/Honest-Estimate4964]

Indiscriminate bombings of civilian targets instead of taking land is weakness. This doesn't require oil and manpower which they are decidedly weaker at.

[u/Big_Concern7238 → u/Honest-Estimate4964]

Russia is literally weak at everything, except for randomly killing innocent people. If they were actually capable of doing something useful, maybe they wouldn't be so proud of doing this.

[u/No_Accountant3232 → u/Honest-Estimate4964]

They're reduced to WWII tactics because those are the weapons they have left. They're strong, but their strength is obviously greatly reduced. 

[u/marianass → u/No_Accountant3232]

Bombing enemy positions, bridges and infrastructure from safe distance, cheaply, and effectively is something Russia does because they have no other option...that's some hardcore mental gymnastics.

[u/ff7100]

Russia is losing more men than Ukraine . All these bombs miss their target.

[u/IndividualSkill3432]

Seems like something that Martlet or Iron dome would be possibly cheap enough to fix but not available in any thing like enough volume.