Kathrine Frich
When you wait endlessly for someone else to fix a massive problem, frustration takes over.
Sometimes, you just have to build the solution yourself. That exact shift is playing out on a major battlefield right now.
A deadly problem
For three years, a cheap aerial weapon has devastated cities across Ukraine. Russian forces drop modified Soviet bombs to flatten entire districts in places like Kharkiv.
These gliding explosives launch from high altitudes inside Russian airspace. That keeps attacking planes safe from return fire.
Keir Giles, a security expert at Chatham House, explained the toll to the Telegraph. “For a significant period, there was very little practical defense against Russian glide bombs, and this contributed significantly to the heavy Ukrainian casualties along the front line,” he said.
Taking matters back
Now, military engineers in Kiev have revealed their own version. They call it the Equalizer.
The new weapon took 17 months to build. It carries a massive payload and signals a clear break from relying on Western allies.
Brave1, a defense technology group, confirmed to Ziare.com that the system “was not copied from Western or Soviet systems” and has passed “all the necessary testing.”
Giles noted that Ukraine is essentially “doing independently what the United States was unwilling to do” regarding strike capabilities.
Heavy hitting power
Small attack drones are highly accurate. However, they lack the brute force needed to crack reinforced concrete bunkers.
Christoph Bergs, an analyst at the Royal United Services Institute, highlighted this gap. “While FPV (first-person view) quadcopters and small tactical drones can hit targets, they simply don’t have the explosive power of a 250kg or 500kg bomb,” Bergs said.
He added that the Equalizer changes the tactical math. “The availability of these bombs provides the ability to attack fortified areas, defensive positions and command posts where high explosive power is required.”
The altitude challenge
The hardware gives commanders a vital option for deep strikes. Even so, defending pilots face a major physics problem.
Russian jets drop their bombs from heights of up to 7,500 meters. This allows the weapons to glide for dozens of kilometers.
Ukrainian planes must fly much lower to avoid enemy radar. Launching from a low altitude severely cuts the weapon’s maximum travel distance.
Still, the tactical tide could finally turn. “Now that Ukraine is developing comparable capabilities of its own, this could accelerate the pace at which Russian forces are being pushed back,” Giles said.
Sources: Ziare.com, The Telegraph, Chatham House, Royal United Services Institute, Brave1
