The Daily Populous Tuesday March 18th, 2025 night edition
Authored by euromaidanpress.com and submitted by Silly-avocatoe

Ukraine has apparently succeeded in disrupting glide bombs used by Russian forces after months of attempts, Der Spiegel reports. This breakthrough could significantly impact battlefield conditions if sustained, particularly considering potential policy changes under the Trump administration.

Amid the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war, Trump has alarmed European allies by appearing to shift toward Moscow after taking office in January. Russian glide bombs have caused numerous Ukrainian military and civilian casualties and played a decisive role in territorial gains by Kremlin forces, especially in 2024. However, their effectiveness appears to have diminished recently.

Russian military bloggers with connections to the air force reported earlier that Ukrainian forces have successfully disrupted the control systems of these weapons. Glide bombs function as conventional aerial munitions upgraded with metal wings and satellite navigation, which increases both their range and accuracy. Their lack of a motor means they produce no heat signature, making them difficult for conventional air defense systems to detect and intercept, Der Spiegel notes. During flight, they can be controlled via satellite.

While precise details of Ukraine’s countermeasures remain limited, military expert Thomas Withington from the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) explained to Der Spiegel that satellite jamming is a likely method.

“When a satellite signal reaches the earth, it is only very weak. If you generate a stronger signal at the same frequency near the receiver, it will mask the signal from space,” Withington told Der Spiegel.

This interference allows defenders to redirect the bomb onto a new trajectory. Russian forces reportedly complain they now require many more bombs and sorties to achieve successful strikes, making missions increasingly impractical.

Withington notes that countermeasures against such jamming do exist:

“Western glide bombs, for example, use an encrypted GPS signal and therefore do not react to other signals.”

Whether Russians lack this technology or Ukrainians have broken their encryption remains unclear. Russian forces generally use their own satellite navigation system called Glonass, but according to Withington, many frontline soldiers utilize simple, unencrypted receivers.

Consistently disrupting glide bombs would further weaken Russia’s stalled advances. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s air capabilities are advancing with Western support, as American F-16s and French Mirages gradually arrive, and Ukraine has been using US- and French-supplied glide bombs.

However, Western equipment comes with limitations.

“The Ukrainians have not received permission from the Americans to use the encrypted signal because the technology could fall into the hands of the Russians,” Withington explained to Der Spiegel.

With modern glide bombs and fighter jets, Ukraine could gain an advantage, though limited by their small numbers. In larger quantities, these weapons could severely impact Russian forces, but given uncertain US support, a significant increase in capability seems unlikely for now.

LVDirtlawyer on March 17th, 2025 at 17:09 UTC »

The missle knows where it is at all times by knowing where it isn't.

In this case, the missle doesn't know where it is or where it isn't.

CyberPatriot71489 on March 17th, 2025 at 16:34 UTC »

Good, now don’t tell us Americans… 🙏

BUFF_BRUCER on March 17th, 2025 at 16:13 UTC »

Hope they find a way to change their destination to the kremlin