Ukrainian defense forces have neutralized one of the key advantages of the Russian Armed Forces on the battlefield, according to Forbes.

Guided glide bombs, known as KAB, were considered a "wonder weapon" for the Russians, while the Ukrainians had "virtually no countermeasures." Over time, this situation has changed, and it is now clear that the "golden era" of these munitions has ended, as Ukrainians have learned how to counter them. This is discussed in an article by Forbes.

Until recently, the Russian Armed Forces effectively employed the following tactic: first, glide bombs would rain down on Ukrainian defenses, and once the dust settled, Russian infantry would attack the surviving Ukrainians. The "bomb first, then assault" strategy helped the Russians capture the fortress city of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine, and then advance close to the city of Pokrovsk.

Gradually, and unnoticed by many, the situation changed. Ukrainian jammers became so effective and numerous that they have "saturated the front line," preventing glide bombs from connecting with the GLONASS satellite group, which is inferior to American satellites. Without a stable connection for course correction, glide bombs typically miss their targets and explode somewhere in the fields.

"All key targets will be guaranteed to be covered by [electronic warfare]. It may take eight or even 16 glide bombs to reliably hit one target," the publication quotes the Russian Telegram channel Fighterbomber.

While glide bombs are relatively inexpensive for precision munitions—each costing around $25,000—the jets that deploy them are more expensive. This means that now, several planes are needed to hit a single target, which Russia cannot afford to risk.

The publication notes that intense Ukrainian jamming has also led to the halt of many Russian drones, forcing desperate Russian operators to switch to more expensive fiber-optic drones that transmit and receive signals through long, thin cables instead of radio.

Of course, the Russians also jam signals, but their electronic warfare lacks the impact of the Ukrainian efforts. Many Russian "jammers" are poorly made and ineffective.

Equally important is that the best Ukrainian munitions—American Joint Direct Attack Munitions and French Hammer glide bombs—feature GPS guidance but also have backup inertial navigation systems (INS) that are fully autonomous and thus impervious to interference.

"By flooding the airwaves with radio noise, which affects them less than it does the Russians, the Ukrainians may have erased one of Russia's key advantages on the battlefield. It’s time for Russian commanders to 'acknowledge this reality. The future lies with autonomous INS,'" the publication states.

It is worth noting that in the Donetsk region, the Russians have achieved partial successes. They managed to advance in the area of the village of Burlatske and in Andriivka. Analysts claim that the situation here is quite tense, as the Russians continue their attempts to seize territory near Andriivka in this direction.