[Video transcript]
Russian glide bombs tearing through a Ukrainian hangar early in 2024. At least, that's according to Russian military bloggers.
Russian — and Ukrainian — social media has been full of these kinds of images in recent months.
But seeing it on a screen doesn't quite prepare you for seeing the impact these weapons can have with your own eyes. This is the damage done by the smallest kind of glide bomb currently used by Russia.
First soldier: "This is just a small part of the glide bomb. This was a 250 kg glide bomb — to give you a sense of scale, I'm 2 m tall."
These Ukrainian soldiers know all too well what it feels like to be at the receiving end of Russian glide bomb attacks. They tell us they first came up against them about a year ago. In recent months they've been getting bigger — and more frequent.
Second soldier: "Glide bombs make a hissing sound. You hear that sound and soon enough there's an explosion, you've got debris flying around and then the shock wave hits you."
First soldier: "Right now it's the Russians' go-to weapon to force our infantry out of their dug-outs. They just flatten everything. It doesn’t matter how deep you dig your trenches, it won't help."
This war is the first to see glide bombs used so widely and to such effect — but the technology behind them isn't completely new. This is a hybrid weapon.
Valeriy Romanenko, Ukrainian aviation expert: "Glide bombs are just conventional 'dumb' bombs that have turned into precise 'smart' bombs with the addition of special wing kits and satellite navigation systems. Crucially, they can fly up to 70 kilometers."
That means Russian pilots can launch these glide bombs out of range of most Ukrainian air defenses. And by repurposing Soviet era bombs from its vast stockpiles, Russia can produce these weapons at speed and far lower cost than an equivalent missile.
Valeriy Romanenko, Ukrainian aviation expert: "These Russian bombs are cheaper than anything the US has. They use the simplest mechanics and a very primitive wing kit. The whole thing costs less than $20,000."
For comparison, even the cheapest cruise missiles Russia has fired at Ukraine are estimated to cost around a million dollars to produce.
These low-tech bombs often fail to detonate, giving Ukrainian troops a chance to better understand the weapon they face.
Second soldier: "Sure, they're put together crudely. But they're effective. They do more damage than artillery."
Many in Ukraine have asked why the air force doesn't try to build its own glide bombs. Producing these weapons isn't the problem. Launching them safely is. Russia's S-400 air defense systems can down Ukrainian planes up to 200 kilometers away.
Ukrainian experts and soldiers agree that there's only one realistic answer to Russian glide bombs — and that's matching Russia's capacity to shoot down the planes that can carry these bombs.
Ukraine has already proven that it's possible. Ukrainian forces say they shot down more than a dozen Russian planes in February alone.
Most experts believe that was down to Western-supplied Patriot air defense systems.
That is, until March when Russian forces were able to destroy these two Patriot launchers in Donetsk region.
Since then Ukraine has had to keep its handful of Patriot systems away from the front lines, protecting the country's big cities.
Until Ukraine gets more of these air defense systems from the West and can afford to take risks, Russian planes carrying glide bombs will have little to fear.