Colonel Khatylev appreciated the new “wunderwaffe” of the Armed Forces of Ukraine – planning bombs

Everyone is already talking about the preparations for a large spring Ukrainian offensive. True, the Armed Forces of Ukraine do not have enough aircraft for such an “offensive”. Air support is one of the main components of success in offensive operations. Problem. The Armed Forces of Ukraine seem to be going to solve it with American GLSDB glide bombs, which can be launched from the ground by M142 HIMARS rocket systems. With these long-range ammunition, the Armed Forces of Ukraine will be able to cut off the supply routes of our troops, strike at command posts, bases and rear areas.

The ex-head of the anti-aircraft missile forces of the Special Forces Command, retired colonel Sergei Khatylev, told MK that our air defense could counter this threat.

GLSDB guided bombs with a range of up to 150 km for HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems have been included in the latest US aid package totaling over $2 billion, Reuters reported.

The GLSDB glide bomb can actually be called a rocket, as it is equipped with a jet engine. This is a successful combination of GBU-39 guided bomb with inertial and satellite navigation system and M26 unguided rocket engine for M270 and HIMARS.

Unlike the basic version, the flight range of the GLSDB is no longer 32-45 km, but 150 km, which is actually twice as long as the range of the ammunition that the Pentagon has been supplying to Kiev so far.

GLSDB is launched by HIMARS launchers, after which the bomb accelerates to a speed of 900-1200 m / s. Having reached a height of 15-25 thousand meters at this speed, the ammunition undocks from the upper stage and begins to plan towards the target using a GPS module, flaps and aerodynamic rudders.

– The HIMARS system is used to launch these bombs, like a slingshot, – says Colonel Khatylev, – then the GLSDB captures the target and goes to it itself.

– Experts say that such a projectile is small, which makes it difficult for our air defense systems to detect and destroy it.

– Along with the fact that it has low visibility and, supposedly, is capable of planning up to a range of 150 kilometers, it is important to understand here that the flight of this bomb is carried out, as it were, in two modes. First, it accelerates 45-50 kilometers, and then plans the remaining 100 kilometers. At the same time, the first 45 kilometers is the distance that she needs to cover under the supervision of our radar stations of the radio engineering troops.

– Why?

– For more effective use of these bombs, the Armed Forces of Ukraine will have to place “slingshots” for them somewhere at a distance of 45 kilometers from the front line or from our border. And there our tracking stations will already see their launch and observe the flight.

In addition, for the next 100 kilometers, planning bombs will fly at low speed and with their plumage already unfolded. This means that the effective reflective surface will immediately increase several times. So it turns out: theoretically, the flight range is one, but practically it is completely different. No one will let them easily and easily overcome these 150 kilometers.

– Do you think Russian air defense is capable of working effectively for such purposes?

– I think their interception by our medium-range systems today is possible with a probability somewhere around 0.8. That is, for guaranteed destruction, it will be necessary to launch two missiles. In addition, we already have some experience of working on such goals. It was purchased in Syria. There, these planning bombs, however, were not used from HIMARS, but from aircraft. But our complexes demonstrated there a very high efficiency in destroying these bombs.

– But here they are still used in a more advanced version. They say that the Americans are supplying these bombs not even from their own stocks, but those that were specially ordered and made for Ukraine.

– Yes, this, of course, is a new task for our anti-aircraft missile forces. But we have such complexes as Pantsir-S1 to solve it. It is armed with 12 rockets and two 30mm cannons with a rate of fire of 5,000 rounds per minute. Rocket launch cycle – 6.4 seconds. This is generally a world record for anti-aircraft missile technology. And this complex shoots such planning bombs very effectively.

We have a “Thor” which has ammunition in various modifications – from 8 to 16 missiles. The cycle of combat work is 8 seconds. And he also showed high efficiency in destroying such targets. This was during the use of Tomahawk tactical cruise missiles by Israel and the United States and these GBU-39s in the Middle East. These are all real indicators and a real assessment of their actions.

So I wouldn’t make the GLSDB planning bombs the subject of another cult worship. At first, they were Turkish “bayraktars”, when they announced that this is the means that, supposedly, will immediately solve all the problems of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. And what happened? We quickly learned to shoot them down and they did not give the effect that the Armed Forces of Ukraine initially expected.

Then there were the “holy javelins”. Everyone was told how they beat tanks, destroying them in batches. Now these “javelins” are lying around in the trenches, where ours collect them in dozens. They are practically no longer used, as they have shown low efficiency.

Now they are trying to make Western tanks and planning bombs GLSDB an object of worship. But I assure you, the result will be the same.

– Hardly, one can hope for the low effectiveness of the GLSDB bombs. I think it will still be a serious challenge for us.

– The only problem will be that we will have to slightly increase the air defense grouping and quickly master the work on new targets. We have already encountered this when the West began to supply Ukraine with HIMARS systems. We learned to work on them and shoot down their rockets. Now a new type of targets is added to them – glide bombs. Taking into account our equipment, including the S-300 systems, and primarily the Torah and Pantsir, it will take literally a couple of weeks, our air defense specialists will gain combat experience, and we will learn how to shoot down all these GLSDBs in the same way as all other targets .