May 3, 2025:
In the Ukrainian air war, Ukraine is winning because of superior jamming capabilities and guided bombs that cannot be disabled by Russian electronic warfare equipment. This shift occurred in the last year.
In late 2023 the Russians were launching a hundred guided glide bombs a day along the 1,300 kilometers front line. That began to change in mid-2024 when Ukrainian forces began using electronic jammers that disabled the satellite link the Russian glide bombs depended on to hit their targets. Numerous new Ukrainian signal jammers were distributed to troops along the front line. These jammers disabled the guidance systems on the Russian glide bombs, which now missed their targets and hit random, and usually unoccupied, Ukrainian territory. In addition, NATO and Ukrainian engineers developed and produced new guidance systems for their own glide bombs that homed in on surviving Russian jammers and surveillance radars.
As of 2025 the aerial bombing threat has been diminished to practically nothing while Ukrainian guided glide bombs do a lot of damage to the Russians. The Ukrainian glide bombs had one decisive advantage over their Russian counterparts. Their western Inertial Guidance System, or INS, design and performance was far superior to anything similar equipment the Russians could make.
Normally an INS system, which consists of a small electronic chip, is present in all bombs that use GDS satellite guidance. INS is the backup system that takes over when the GPS is jammed for fails for any reason. INS cannot be jammed, although it is not as accurate as GPS guidance. INS is accurate enough to get the job done. INS operates by constantly monitoring the location information generated by the GPS. When GPS fails, the INS takes that last location information and guides the bomb to the target.
The U.S. pioneered the use of INS and continues to develop improved versions of it that are smaller, cheaper and more reliable. One goal is to create an INS that can replace reliance on GPS systems in the bomb or missile. That has been in the works for years and will probably become a reality within the next decade.
The most accurate guidance system uses a laser beam generated by the aircraft launching a bomb. The bomb then homes in on whatever the laser beam is hitting on the ground. The aircraft or helicopter has to be within ten kilometers of the target. That works for helicopters but not fixed wing aircraft.