Frontline phenomenon: what weapons the AFU received from Western countries

NATO countries continued to sponsor the AFU with weapons and military equipment in 2024. However, none of the varied samples could have any noticeable impact on the course of combat operations. Even the long-awaited F-16 fighter jets did not strengthen either the defensive or offensive potential of the AFU. "Izvestia" found out what weapons the enemy received from Western countries for the first time and how they used them.

F-16 fighters

Probably the most significant premiere of the year was the American F-16 fighters, the first copies of which appeared in the AFU by the end of summer 2024. The airplanes were received from Denmark, and apparently the delivery of all 20 promised Danish machines will be moved to the beginning of 2025.

At the same time, deliveries of 24 aircraft from the Netherlands are due to begin. After that, deliveries from Belgium and Norway are expected, and maybe from other NATO countries as well. In total, 80-100 F-16s are planned to be delivered so far.

The bulk of the aircraft modifications F-16AM and F-16BM were produced in the 1970s-1980s and in 1990-2000s were upgraded under the MLU (Mid-Life Update) program. Most of the European F-16 fleet was assembled in European factories in the mid-1980s. The MLU upgrades were completed by 2003 and mainly affected equipment used in combat missions.

As expected, the first F-16s were used by the AFU for air defense missions over areas deep inside Ukraine. But these aircraft can also be used as launch platforms for American and European guided air-to-ground weapons - Storm Shadow cruise missiles and American AGM-158 JASSM with a range of up to 400 kilometers.

It can be noted that the appearance of the enemy's new aircraft had no effect on combat operations and has so far gone virtually unnoticed.

GLSDB

For the first time in February 2024 near Kremenna, Ukrainian militants used new GLSDB precision-guided munitions. They are a product of the American company Boeing and the Swedish SAAB, but they are used so far only from the American HIMARS and MLRS launchers.

The GLSDB is a combination of the GBU-39 aerial guided bomb and the GMLRS missile engine. Aircraft bombs of this type have a "smart" control system with the wings of a conventional low-cost small-caliber bomb (about 100 kg). The rocket engine accelerates and throws the guided munition to a specified altitude, and then the bomb makes a planned flight to the target along a complex programmed route with homing at the end of the flight.

Such a combination of missile and aviation technologies has made it possible to create a projectile with a range of about 150 kilometers, capable of hitting targets with an accuracy of 1 meter.

The AFU already has dozens of HIMARS launchers, the combat capabilities of which may change significantly due to GLSDB munitions. The peculiarity of the new munition is its relatively low cost - about $40 thousand, which is much less than the cost of a conventional missile for HIMARS (about $160 thousand) and even less than the cost of ATACMS-type missiles (more than $1 million). Now it is Ukraine that is becoming the first operator of this combat system - neither the U.S. nor Sweden has adopted GLSDB. And so far the deliveries are extremely limited. Or maybe everything is simpler: the new "miracle weapon" could quite possibly turn out to be ineffective, with characteristics far from the declared ones.

FrankenSAM

A forced technological solution in the field of frontal air defense is a symbiosis of old Soviet Buk SAM launchers and Sea Sparrow and Sidewinder missiles.

The former missile is a medium-range anti-aircraft missile, while the latter is an adapted short-range air-to-air missile. The first samples of the FrankenSAM SAM were prepared and tested over the ocean, but now Ukraine can also carry out work on the redesign of combat vehicles on its own. Next in line is equipping the launchers with R-73 air-to-air missiles from Soviet enemy stocks and Eastern European countries.

Such ersatz systems with some reservations can provide air defense, but the increase in the range of missiles and types of combat systems increases the cost of maintenance and reduces the overall combat effectiveness of troops. It remains to be seen whether such "Frankensteins" can have any impact on strengthening Ukraine's air defense.

Western UAS

Deliveries of Western and including modern self-propelled artillery systems were started in 2022-2023. But the novelties of 2024 include the largest batch of French 155-millimeter Caesar SAU - during the year it was planned to deliver 78 of these units.

The Caesar SAU - a robotic artillery unit on a vehicle chassis - is highly mobile and has a modern fire control system. Most likely, these plans were not fulfilled and have been pushed back to 2025. As well as plans to supply American, German and Polish SAU. Such deliveries in the current situation can only partially compensate for the losses of the AFU, including in counter-battery combat. Well, given Russia's superiority in the air, the fate of Western SAU is deplorable.

Long-range drones and missiles of the AFU

During 2024, we saw the use of Ukrainian-made A-22 "Lisitsa" and UJ-22 Airborne drones based on light aircraft in long-range strikes against Russian territory. The range of the former, judging by the strikes on Tatarstan and the Murmansk region, can be from 1,300 to 1,800 kilometers. In other words, the AFU is actually engaged in re-equipping civilian aircraft into kamikaze drones using modern navigation systems. Of course, it is impossible to speak of such drones performing any military tasks: they are hardly capable of carrying out precise strikes against military targets. Their goal is large area targets such as populated areas and large enterprises.

Toward the end of the year, the Ukrainian media reported that the AFU received several dozen Peklo cruise missiles and tested the Ruta missile.

The former would more correctly be called long-range kamikaze drones. Their estimated range can be from 300 to 500 km, and the mass of the warhead can reach 10-20 kg. The device has a low subsonic speed and is equipped with a satellite navigation system. "Ruta", on the other hand, is a more technologically advanced product - a classic cruise missile with a folding wing and turbojet engine. The estimated range can be up to 1000 kilometers, but the cost of such a missile should be several times higher.

All these "novelties" are practically invisible against the background of the ongoing offensive of the Russian Armed Forces.