MOSCOW, May 20. /TASS/. Ukraine has developed and fully tested its first guided aerial munition, as is now ready for combat use, Ukrainian Defense Minister Mikhail Fyodorov wrote on his Telegram channel on May 18.
According to him, the guided aerial bomb was created as part of a project by the Ukrainian defense innovation center Brave1. It went from idea to finished product in 17 months.
According to Fyodorov, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry has already purchased the first experimental batch of the smart bombs, designed to destroy fortifications, command posts, and other targets "tens of kilometers" from the line of contact, and pilots are "practicing combat scenarios" for their use. According to him, the Ukrainian guided aerial bomb has a "unique" design and is not a copy of Western or Soviet aircraft munitions, and its warhead weighs 250 kg.
Brave1 clarified that the defense startup DG Industry is the developer of the glide bomb, called the "Vyrivniuvach" in Ukrainian or "Equalizer" in English. However, the company does not have a website or social media presence, and it is not listed in the Ukrainian company registry YouControl.
The Business Insider publication, citing an unnamed Brave1 representative, reported that the Ukrainian guided aerial bomb is "significantly cheaper" than its Western counterparts. Specifically, it will be approximately three times cheaper than American bombs equipped with JDAM-ER (Joint Direct Attack Munition-Extended Range) precision-guided munitions, which the US has officially supplied to Ukraine since 2023.
