The dynamics of the war in Ukraine are changing significantly as Russia seeks to upgrade its stockpile of heavy “dumb bombs” into gliding and guided bombs. With Russia already pressing its advantages in sheer numbers of soldiers and munitions, and with Western military support stalled, this major bomb upgrade forebodes darker days for Ukraine ahead.
Straight Arrow News contributor Peter Zeihan explores the details of the new Russian bomb systems and then delivers a dire warning for Ukraine and the West. Zeihan says that the only way for Ukraine to counter this threat is with a much larger air force capable of intercepting Russian planes and conducting preemptive strikes over the Russian border, an unlikely prospect as the U.S. continues to stall on any further aid to Ukraine.
Below is an excerpt from Peter’s March 12 “Zeihan on Geopolitics” newsletter:
We’ve seen both sides of the conflict in Ukraine adopting and adapting new ways of fighting. While Ukraine has innovated with drones and satellite tech, Russia has modified its large FAB-1500 dumb bombs into glide bombs.
Russia has always fought (and won) wars through sheer numbers and volume, but the introduction of precision-guided systems is a new blend of innovative tech and the traditional Russian numbers strategy. Since Russia has so many FAB-1500 dumb bombs that can be upgraded, they’ll have a multi-decade supply of glide bombs.
This shift in Russian strategy should be setting off alarms for the rest of the world. With such a substantial transformation in Russian military power, global military strategies will need to be reevaluated and revised.