Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov announced on May 18 that Ukraine has deployed its first domestically built glide bomb — the Vyrivniuvach, or Equalizer — and that the 250-kilogram weapon is already cleared for combat use after 17 months of development by the Brave1 platform and DG Industry. The Equalizer is roughly comparable to the U.S. JDAM at a fraction of the price, can be fitted to multiple aircraft, including the Sukhoi Su-24, and arrives as Russia has been dropping as many as 5,700 KAB glide bombs on Ukrainian positions in a single month. Ukraine’s Lima-Quant electronic warfare system has cut their effectiveness to near zero.
Ukraine Now Has Its Own JDAM To Fight Russia
Ukraine Switchblade Drone. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
An 18 May announcement from Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov states that Ukraine has developed its first domestically designed and manufactured glide bomb. Moreover, the weapon is not a prototype or in testing. According to Fedorov, the bomb is already available for combat use.
Ukraine’s development of its own weapon in this class is highly significant, as the glide bomb has proven to be one of the most effective systems for attacking frontline Russian emplacements.
Russia has been using its own class of glide bomb in this manner and has been consistently modifying its bombs to increase both range and the size and destructive power.
Since their introduction onto the battlefield, Russia has been employing these weapons and has made them one of the major threats to both Ukrainian troop positions and civilians near the front line.
Reports from the front detail how Russia has achieved tactical successes because of the range of its glide bombs to deliver heavy ordnance from a position of relative safety.
But the Russians have not limited the use of their glide bombs to the battlefront.
Su-34 Fullback. Creator: Vitaly V. Kuzmin. Credit: Vitaly V. Kuzmin
They have also been used in urban warfare scenarios in areas close to the border, such as the city of Kharkiv. Russia has used its glide bombs to reduce buildings to rubble, destroy potential shelter for Ukrainian defenders, and create substantial psychological effects.
Jamming and JDAMS
Russia has been prolific and indiscriminate in the use of these weapons.
According to reports, since early 2026 the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) have been dropping as many as 5,700 of these weapons in a single month.
Fortunately for the Ukrainians, they have recently developed an effective jammer against this Russian weapon.
The new jammer reportedly has minimized their effectiveness – at least for the moment.
As reported in April, this upgraded jammer disables even the most advanced Russian precision munitions technology.
“The effectiveness of KABs (Russian correctable aerial bomb) dropped to zero,” a spokesman for the developers of the Lima-Quant electronic warfare system told Forbes magazine. “On a roughly 700 km stretch of the front, the enemy dropped 869 KABs in one of the previous months. The consequences of these strikes were minor injuries to eight servicemen.”
Ukraine War TOS-2. Image Credit: X Screenshot.
But while the Ukrainian-developed jammer that defeats Russia’s glide bombs is proving to be the equal of the US-made Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM), the Ukrainian-developed weapon is proving to be the equal of the US-made Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM).
Up until now, Ukraine has depended on supplies from the US for the JDAM, but with the development of the new Ukrainian glide bomb, the country has increased its technological autonomy.
The new Ukrainian glide bomb is also said to be significantly cheaper than the US-made alternatives, according to the developer, DG Industry.
The weapon is called the “Vyrivniuvach” in Ukrainian, or “Equalizer” in English.
Multiple Delivery Platforms
When it was originally announced, the bomb was supposedly going to be carried by the Ukrainian Air Force (PSU) Sukhoi Su-24.
But according to the program developers at Brave1, it is designed to be carried by a wide range of aircraft.
Brave1 is the Ukrainian national platform for developing defense technologies, and according to both them and Fedorov, this Ukrainian-made glide bomb carries a 250-kilogram warhead and took 17 months to develop.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry has already purchased an initial batch of an experimental production run.
Su-34 Fullback Fighter-Bomber. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Sukhoi Su-34 Heading Into the Sky. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
On 18 May, Brave1 released a video announcement that the new glide bomb is ready for combat deployment after completing “all required trials.”
Meanwhile, Ukrainian pilots are currently rehearsing different combat scenarios for the use of the bomb and have been adapting the weapon for use in real wartime conditions.
“This is not a copy of Western or Soviet solutions, but an original development by Ukrainian engineers designed to effectively strike fortifications, command posts, and other enemy targets dozens of kilometers behind the front line after launch,” Fedorov said.
Fedorov said the new Ukrainian weapon reflects Kyiv’s comprehensive effort to shift away from importing individual weapons systems and developing its own high-tech military industry.
“Soon, Ukrainian glide bombs will be striking enemy targets,” Fedorov said.
About the Author: Reuben F. Johnson
Reuben F. Johnson has thirty-six years of experience analyzing and reporting on foreign weapons systems, defense technologies, and international arms export policy. Johnson is the Director of Research at the Casimir Pulaski Foundation. He is also a survivor of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He worked for years in the American defense industry as a foreign technology analyst and later as a consultant for the U.S. Department of Defense, the Departments of the Navy and Air Force, and the governments of the United Kingdom and Australia. In 2022-2023, he won two consecutive awards for his defense reporting. He holds a bachelor’s degree from DePauw University and a master’s degree from Miami University in Ohio, specializing in Soviet and Russian studies. He lives in Warsaw.
