00:00Russian forces dropped 8,766 guided aerial bombs on Ukraine in August 2026.
00:08raising its daily usage rate above that recorded during the recent air campaign
00:14US attacks against Iran. According to Militarni, Russia used an average of 283 aerial bombs.
00:22equipped with the Universal Gliding and Correction Modules, known as UMPK,
00:28per day during August. The outlet based its comparison on US operations
00:34based on data from the Pentagon and research from the Royal United Services Institute, RUSI.
00:41During Operation Epic Fury, led by the United States against Iran, the aircraft
00:47Americans used an estimated 211 to 237 guided aerial bombs per day,
00:54According to Militarni's calculations, the comparison refers to the rate of ammunition launch.
01:01guided aerials and not on a general scale, capabilities, objectives or conditions
01:07operational aspects of each air campaign. Russia's current rate remains below the
01:14recorded during the main phase of the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
01:20Militarni estimated that the US and coalition aircraft used approximately
01:25509 precision-guided munitions per day during that period.
01:30The 2003 Iraq campaign involved extensive use of precision-guided weapons.
01:36Data from the United States Air Force is based on a broadly similar approach.
01:42Add guidance and control systems to stocks of conventional drop pumps
01:47free instead of producing a completely new weapon. The United States Air Force describes
01:54The JDAM as a guidance kit that converts conventional unguided bombs into weapons of
01:59Precision through inertial navigation and GPS guidance. Russia has followed the same general concept.
02:06with bombs equipped with UMPK, allowing aircraft to drop conventional bombs
02:12modified from greater distances. RUSI reported in February 2025 that Russia had
02:18ordered more than 70,000 UMPK glide bomb kits for that year alone, amidst the expansion
02:25of large-scale wartime production.
02:28The August figure illustrates the continued expansion of Russian use of glide bombs against Ukraine.
02:34During the last 10 days of July, Russian forces also attacked Pablo Grat,
02:40about 75 kilometers from the front line, on three occasions with guided aerial bombs,
02:46According to Militarni, the media outlet noted that the attacks could indicate a renewed use of
02:52the UMPB-5R extended-range jet propulsion bomb. Russia has also expanded
03:00the production of other relatively inexpensive precision weapons. In September,
03:05The Wall Street Journal reported that Russia was rapidly moving new systems
03:10jet-powered, including the Heran V drone and the Banderole cruise missile, from
03:16battlefield testing to mass production, with an estimated cost of around
03:21$100,000 per unit for both weapons.
