Russia has been developing modifications of guided aerial bombs capable of reaching up to 400 km, which would let Russian aircraft strike many more Ukrainian cities without using missiles.

Source: Vadym Skibitskyi, Deputy Head of Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU), in an interview with Reuters

Details: Skibitskyi said that mass production of new bombs with ranges up to 200 km has already begun. Russia plans to manufacture about 500 of these by the end of the year. Versions with ranges up to 400 km are still in development.

Russia plans to manufacture up to 120,000 guided aerial bombs in 2025, including modernised versions of standard munitions. Skibitskyi says that Russian forces are firing between 200 and 250 such bombs every day. In October, the daily average was about 170.

Guided bombs are fitted with wings and sometimes engines, allowing them to fly tens of kilometres. Their previous range was assessed at about 90 km, but new modifications far exceed that figure.

These munitions are cheaper than missiles yet carry hundreds of kilograms of explosives capable of destroying fortifications and buildings. They have already been used extensively against Kharkiv and Kherson. In October, strikes were also recorded in Mykolaiv, Poltava and Odesa oblasts, demonstrating the increased range of this weapon.

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