glide

A Ukrainian MiG-29 Fulcrum has been seen, apparently for the first time, armed with an air-launched munition analogous to the Russian UMPK, a fairly crude type of guided glide bomb that has nevertheless caused enormous difficulties for Ukrainian air defenses. The appearance of the weapon on the MiG underscores Ukraine’s continued efforts to field standoff munitions, to protect its air assets, and to press home more effective attacks on Russian targets across the front lines. Most significantly, perhaps, the development highlights Ukraine’s major push to introduce more advanced homegrown weapons, reducing its reliance on Western-supplied ordnance.

Recently appeared imagery shows the weapon — the name of which remains unknown — under the port wing of a Ukrainian Air Force MiG-29. The jet is painted in the high-conspicuity blue and yellow scheme that echoes that of the Ukrainian Falcons display team, and which you can read more about here.

As for the weapon, this appears very similar to the UMPK, which is essentially a low-cost kit converting an iron bomb into a guided munition. The Ukrainian weapon has the same underslung wing kit as found on the Russian weapon, which involves the flying surfaces popping out after the bomb topples over in mid-air, soon after being released. As in the Russian UMPK, the Ukrainian weapon appears to incorporate a standard free-fall bomb, which is attached to a self-contained ‘flying device,’ with wings and a navigation package. Judging by the size of the bomb itself, it is apparently in the 500-kilogram (1,102-pound) category.

The first reports of Ukraine testing such a weapon emerged in June of this year, with initial tests of the munition aboard the Su-24 Fencer strike aircraft.

Bearing in mind the fact that the MiG-29 is more widely available than the Fencer, it makes sense to integrate it on the Fulcrum, too. As the workhorse of the Ukrainian Air Force, the MiG-29 has previously been a primary candidate to carry various Western-supplied munitions, as well.

The glide bomb seen being tested on the Su-24 is notably different from a munition that was seen on the same type of aircraft in September of last year. This mysterious store also appears to be a new locally developed air-launched guided munition, and you can read our report about it here.

When reports of the ‘Ukrainian UMPK’ first emerged earlier this summer, it was claimed that funds were still needed to support its development, which is understood to be carried out by the Medoid design bureau.

Ukrainian media also reported that the new weapon had achieved a range of 60 kilometers (37 miles) in tests, with the aim of extending this to 80 kilometers (50 miles). Previous assessments suggest that the Russian UMPK has a maximum range of up to 44 miles. In all cases, the maximum range depends heavily on the launch parameters.

In terms of guidance, the developer said that it’s looking to achieve greater accuracy than the Russian UMPK, with a locally developed guidance package as well as a plan to introduce undisclosed French-made technology, which would be more resistant to hostile electronic warfare jamming.

It’s unclear what has so far been achieved and what, exactly, is the weapon’s operational status at this point. There’s little doubt, however, that a weapon of this kind would be very useful for Ukraine, if it can be perfected.

While you can read the full background to the Russian development of the UMPK in this previous feature, evidence of these weapons’ employment in Ukraine started to appear in early 2023. In Russian, UMPK stands for Unifitsirovannyi Modul Planirovaniya i Korrektsii, meaning unified gliding and correction module.

While hardly comparable to the U.S.-made JDAM-ER glide bomb in any of its parameters, the Russian weapon quickly became a major concern for Ukraine.

By April 2023, the Ukrainian Air Force was reporting that Russia was dropping “up to 20” UMPK bombs each day, delivered from tactical jets operating at the edge of Ukrainian air defense coverage. Ever since, there have been repeated statements from Ukrainian officials reflecting on the difficulty of intercepting these weapons, which have been described as “almost impossible to shoot down.”

Most importantly, and despite questions about their accuracy and overall reliability, the UMPK kits allow for Russian aircraft to launch indirect attacks on targets that would otherwise put them at great risk due to Ukrainian anti-aircraft defenses. Otherwise, much more expensive and complex standoff weaponry would need to be used, and Russia’s limited supply of these weapons has been put under extreme pressure by the prolonged war effort.

For Ukraine, the locally developed UMPK analog will provide the same kinds of advantages.

In particular, while Western allies have supplied likely much more capable precision-guided standoff ordnance, these are relatively exquisite and expensive solutions. Among them are the U.S.-made Joint Direct Attack Munition-Extended Range (JDAM-ER) and Small Diameter Bomb (SDB), and the French AASM Hammer. They are also only available to the Ukrainian Air Force in limited numbers.

According to recent Ukrainian media reports, the Ukrainian Air Force requires at least 100 standoff munitions each day.

The situation should be helped by the arrival, in the coming weeks, of the first of 3,350 examples of the Extended Range Attack Munition (ERAM) to Ukraine, which will provide the country with a powerful new and relatively low-cost standoff strike capability. However, it’s unclear whether Ukraine will be able to use the new weapon to strike targets deep within Russia, based on restrictions imposed by Washington.

Regardless, a locally produced and lower-cost solution is clearly badly needed to keep up the pace of surgical strikes on targets on and just across the front lines. It could potentially also be integrated on Western-supplied F-16s and Mirage 2000s, as well as Soviet-era tactical jets, among which the Su-25 Frogfoot attack aircraft would appear to be a very suitable candidate.

However, there may be downsides to a weapon of this kind.

The Russian UMPK is a relatively makeshift device, made hastily and quickly thrown into combat. Since then, it has been mated with different bomb bodies, including ones of steadily increasing size. However, Russian critical analysis has suggested poor performance and a high failure rate. It is likely that this has driven the development of the more advanced UMPB series, which is a purpose-built guided glide bomb.

As TWZ reported when the new weapon first appeared:

“While the UMPK consists of a wing kit and precision guidance package that’s essentially bolted onto one of several different free-fall bombs, the UMPB appears to have a slicker, far more elegantly integrated design.”

In fact, the UMPB likely has more in common, broadly speaking, with the American SDB.

On the other hand, the availability of the UMPK means Russia has continued to make extensive use of it. According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, in the month of August, Russian aircraft dropped 4,390 guided aerial bombs on Ukrainian positions, compared with 3,786 bombs dropped in the previous month. In 2025, the highest number of bombs of this kind deployed by Russia occurred in April, exceeding 5,000.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s own experience of being on the receiving end of Russian glide bombs and subsequent combat analysis means that the locally developed analog may well include further improvements over the Russian weapon. At the same time, its real importance might ultimately lie in the fact that it should at least begin to reduce reliance on Western-supplied types, like the JDAM-ER, SDB, and AASM Hammer, which have been hugely important for the Ukrainian Air Force. As stocks of more advanced air-launched weapons continue to be eroded, the potential of a locally developed glide bomb kit that can be bolted onto existing Soviet-era munitions cannot be underestimated.

It’s also important to note that Russia will try to engage these glide bombs with air defenses. They can absorb far more expensive air defense effectors, which provides a critical shot exchange advantage for Ukraine that can help chew through Russian missile stockpiles. This has been a major problem with Russia’s UMPKs as they can be very resource-intensive for Ukraine to shoot down, consuming precious counter-air weapons, but they cost Russia relatively little.

With the Ukrainian Air Force’s demand for weapons that can be launched at a safer distance from Russian air defenses, and the tempo of airstrikes in general, it’s likely we will see more of these weapons in the near future.

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