EDITORIAL: The Vyrivnyuvach Ukrainian Guided Bomb — A Precision Revolution Made in Ukraine

Two bombs, one MiG-29, a new era

In June 2026, two Ukrainian-made guided bombs left the wings of a Ukrainian Air Force MiG-29 and struck Russian defensive trenches on the front line with precision. The video, published on the Telegram channel Sonyashnyk, linked to the Ukrainian Air Force, circulated quietly in military circles before going viral in specialized networks. This was no ordinary munition: it was the Vyrivnyuvach — the first 100% Ukrainian guided bomb, developed in 17 months by DG Industry through the Brave1 platform.

This is a pivotal moment. Not simply because a guided bomb hit its target — Ukraine has been using guided munitions for years, including American JDAM-ERs and French bombs. But because this weapon was born in Ukraine, designed by Ukrainian engineers, tested on Ukrainian soil, and now deployed by Ukrainian pilots. Dependence on Western transfers has just taken a decisive step back.

Minister Fedorov: "This is not a copy"

Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov was unequivocal: "This is not a copy of Western or Soviet solutions — it is an original development by Ukrainian engineers." That clarification matters. It responds to those who might suspect simple reverse engineering of American JDAM-ERs or Russian UMPKs. The Vyrivnyuvach is a distinct architecture, with its own guidance algorithms, its own in-flight correction system, and its own aerodynamic configuration.

Unveiled at the Eurosatory 2026 defence show in Paris in June 2026, the bomb was observed by experts from around the world. The kit consists of two distinct parts: a wing module with its deployment mechanism attached to the bomb body, and a rear section housing the navigation and control system. A classically logical design — but original in its technical solutions.

When Fedorov says "this is not a copy," I believe him. And even if part of the inspiration came from elsewhere — as is inevitable in any weapons development — the fact that a country at war produced a functional precision munition in 17 months is extraordinary in itself. It is a sign of industrial maturity that many nations at peace could not achieve.

Brave1: the Silicon Valley of war

The Brave1 platform is one of the most significant institutional innovations to emerge from the Ukrainian war. Built to accelerate defence technology development, it connects Ukrainian startups, private engineers, and military structures in an agile innovation ecosystem — far removed from the sluggishness of traditional procurement. This is the channel through which the Vyrivnyuvach was developed, tested, and put into production.

The manufacturer, DG Industry, secured the necessary funding through Brave1 to launch the programme. In May 2026, the Ukrainian Air Force received its first experimental batch. A few weeks later, in June, the munition carried out its first real operational strike. The gap between delivery of the first batch and combat deployment is remarkably short — a sign of the operational urgency that shapes every aspect of the Ukrainian war.

From the Su-24M to the MiG-29: versatility as the key

In 2025, the first tests of the Vyrivnyuvach were conducted from a Su-24M tactical bomber. Results confirmed the ability to engage targets at 60 kilometres. For the June 2026 operational debut, a MiG-29 served as the launch platform. This compatibility with different aircraft in the Ukrainian inventory is essential: it maximises tactical flexibility.

The Vyrivnyuvach can also be certified for the F-16s and Mirages supplied by European allies, after additional certification work. This interoperability between Soviet-era aircraft and Western fighters is a genuine feat of technical integration — an achievement that even some NATO engineers would not have anticipated three years ago.

MiG-29 and F-16 compatibility for the same Ukrainian munition — that is the perfect symbol of the Ukrainian Air Force's transformation: one foot in Soviet heritage, one foot in Western modernity, bridged by an ingenuity entirely its own. This hybridity is not a weakness. It is an operationally unique strength.

A 250-kilogram warhead, 40 to 130 kilometres of range

The Vyrivnyuvach carries a 250-kilogram warhead — sufficient to destroy fortified positions, armoured vehicles, logistics depots, or command posts. Its declared range exceeds 130 kilometres, though analysts at Defence Express note that this maximum range is only achievable at very high altitude — a constraint that is difficult to meet in the Russian air defence environment.

In practice, the realistic release method for Ukrainian forces is the loft release: the aircraft approaches at low altitude to avoid Russian radars and air defence systems, then executes an abrupt climb before releasing the bomb, which uses its momentum to glide toward the target. In this tactical profile, the effective range is around 40 kilometres — sufficient to keep the carrier aircraft beyond the reach of most Russian short- and medium-range air defence systems.

Three times cheaper than the American JDAM-ER

One of the most powerful arguments for the Vyrivnyuvach is its cost. According to information provided by DG Industry to Business Insider, the Ukrainian bomb costs three times less than the American JDAM-ER equivalent. In a high-intensity war where munitions are consumed by the hundreds, that cost difference is strategically decisive.

It allows Ukraine to consider scaling up domestic production without hitting the budgetary limits that so often constrain Western arms purchases. If production can be industrialised — which the mention of active mass production according to Defence Ukraine suggests — the Vyrivnyuvach could rapidly become the most-used precision strike munition in the Ukrainian Air Force.

Three times cheaper than the JDAM-ER and a realistic range of 40 kilometres: that is the right cost-effectiveness balance for a war of attrition. Ukraine does not need the perfect munition — it needs a munition available in sufficient quantities, reliable, and affordable. The Vyrivnyuvach checks those boxes.

Sonyashnyk and real-time operational documentation

The documentation of the first operational strike followed a path now familiar in the Ukrainian war: a Telegram post, validated by military sources, amplified by open-source analysts. The Sonyashnyk channel, linked to the Ukrainian Air Force, shared footage of the impact. Confirmation came quickly from the specialist outlet Militarnyi, which identified the munitions as the Vyrivnyuvach based on visual characteristics.

This mode of operational communication — transparent, rapid, documented — is one of the defining features of the Ukrainian war. It creates performance pressure on development teams, but also a form of public confidence in the armed forces' capabilities. When a Ukrainian commander says his troops have a new weapon, a video typically follows within 48 hours.

Russian trenches as a target for a Ukrainian precision strike

The targets hit during the first operational strike were Russian defensive trenches on the front line. That target choice reveals the intended employment doctrine for the Vyrivnyuvach: destruction of enemy fortifications to prepare or support Ukrainian infantry operations. In the positional warfare that has defined the front for months, the ability to destroy fortified positions with precision — without exposing one's own aircraft — is decisive.

Russian KAB glide bombs represented one of the major challenges for Ukrainian defence precisely because they allowed Russian aircraft to strike from a safe standoff distance. With the Vyrivnyuvach, Ukraine now has a symmetric capability: striking deep into Russian positions without exposing its pilots to enemy defences.

A precision strike on trenches 40 kilometres away, from a MiG-29 that stays out of range of Russian air defence systems — that is exactly the capability Ukraine was missing to rebalance the aerial equation. The tactical symmetry with Russian KABs has now been partially restored.

When Western transfers are no longer enough

Ukraine has received substantial quantities of Western guided munitions since the start of the full-scale invasion: American JDAM-ERs, French AASM Hammers, British Storm Shadows, Anglo-French Scalps. But each comes with constraints: usage limitations imposed by donor nations, high unit costs, delivery lead times, and quantitative caps.

The Vyrivnyuvach fundamentally changes that equation. A munition produced in Ukraine, by Ukrainian companies, using Ukrainian or globally sourced materials and components, does not depend on the political decisions of a foreign government. It can be produced in quantities dictated solely by military need and Ukrainian industrial capacity.

The European Union and Ukraine's "most innovative defence sector in the world"

That assessment — attributed to the European Union's defence chief in June 2026 — is not flattering rhetoric. It is factual. Over four years of high-intensity warfare, Ukraine has developed some of the world's most advanced drone systems, innovative anti-drone defence systems, and now its own guided munitions. This innovation emerged under the existential pressure of war — a pressure that produces a creativity no peacetime laboratory can match.

The Vyrivnyuvach is the visible product of a military innovation ecosystem built in just a few years. Brave1, Ukrainian technical universities, private research centres and the armed forces now form a weapons development network with no equivalent in Europe.

"The most innovative defence sector in the world" — that is a bold claim, but looking at what Ukraine has produced in four years of war, I cannot dispute it. Israel spent decades building its defence industry. Ukraine did it under fire, in an emergency. That is simply staggering.

Ukraine receives 840 ERAM missiles in 2026: a complementary strike force

Alongside the development of national capabilities, Ukraine continues to receive munitions from its allies. In 2026, 840 ERAM missiles are to be delivered — missiles compatible with both MiG-29s and F-16s, illustrating the hybrid architecture of the Ukrainian Air Force. This complementarity between domestic and imported munitions is a strength: it reduces dependence on any single supplier while expanding the range of available tactical options.

Ukraine's airborne armament strategy is now clear: develop a national base for short- and medium-range precision munitions, continue receiving long-range systems from Western allies, and maximise interoperability across all platforms. It is a strategy of resilience as much as firepower.

From Eurosatory to the front line: an unprecedented innovation cycle

The Vyrivnyuvach presented at Eurosatory 2026 in Paris in June and used in combat on the front just days later: this unprecedented innovation-to-deployment cycle illustrates the speed at which the Ukrainian defence industry operates. Under normal circumstances, military procurement cycles span years, even decades. Ukraine compresses them into weeks.

This execution speed has strategic value independent of the technical quality of the systems developed. It means the Russian adversary must constantly adapt to new threats, which complicates its defensive and offensive planning. Technological surprise is a weapon in its own right.

Presenting a bomb in Paris and firing it in real combat in the same week — that is weapons development in startup mode. No traditional military bureaucracy would function at that speed. Ukraine has invented a new way of conducting industrial warfare, and the West should draw lessons from it for its own procurement processes.

Putin facing a Ukraine that innovates faster than he advances

The Russian army built its air dominance in Ukraine on the superiority of its long-range bombers and KAB guided bombs. These munitions caused massive destruction in Ukrainian front-line cities like Kharkiv, Kupiansk, and Avdiivka. The Russian ability to strike from a safe standoff was one of its most significant tactical advantages.

The emergence of the Vyrivnyuvach changes that calculation. Not because a single strike shifts the overall balance — but because it signals a predictable and accelerating build-up. If Ukrainian production of this munition reaches hundreds per month, as the stated industrial ambitions suggest, the Russian army will have to contend with a permanent precision strike threat against its fortifications.

Aerial counter-battery: rebalancing the glide bomb equation

For every Russian KAB dropped on a Ukrainian position, Ukraine will now be able to respond with its own Vyrivnyuvach. This is not mere rhetorical symmetry — it is a tactical reality that will reshape behaviour on the front. Russian commanders will now need to protect their fortified positions not only against Ukrainian drone strikes and cruise missiles, but also against a new category of domestically produced guided glide bombs.

The logistical implications for Russia are significant: reinforcing air defences across the full operational depth, adapting ground combat procedures to protect fortifications now under threat, and revising troop employment doctrines for front-line units. It is an additional operational burden that Ukraine is imposing on its adversary.

The symmetry of glide bombs may be one of the most significant battlefield shifts in months. Moscow has long struck with impunity from its Su-34s and Su-35s. With the Ukrainian Vyrivnyuvach, that impunity is beginning to crack. And cracks in Russian military certainties are what matters.

From prototype to full-scale production: the scale-up challenge

According to information gathered at Eurosatory 2026 by the specialist observer Jeff21461, the Vyrivnyuvach is already in active mass production. If confirmed, this represents a remarkable acceleration of the programme. Moving from an experimental batch in May 2026 to mass production in June 2026 implies that industrial infrastructure was already prepared in advance.

For the Vyrivnyuvach to truly change the tactical balance, hundreds — or even thousands — of units per month will need to be produced. DG Industry and its supply chain partners will need to solve the classic challenges of industrial scale-up: sourcing precision electronic components, special materials for control surface actuators, explosives for warheads. Each link in that chain can become a bottleneck.

Brave1's role in Ukraine's defence ecosystem

With the Vyrivnyuvach, the Brave1 platform has demonstrated its ability to take a weapons programme from concept to series production in under two years. That track record will now attract engineers, investors, and industry players toward other ambitious programmes. Ukraine is building, bomb by bomb and drone by drone, a military-industrial complex that barely existed before 2022.

This complex has a unique advantage over traditional defence industries: it is free of bureaucratic bottlenecks, corporate lobbying, and multi-year budget cycles that paralyse acquisitions in Western democracies. The urgency of war has created an environment in which speed of execution is a cardinal value — a model the entire NATO alliance should study.

Brave1 may be the most important institution created in Ukraine since the start of the war. Not the army, not the government — but this innovation catalyst that allowed civilian engineers to create weapons that save soldiers' lives. It is proof that the best responses to existential crises often emerge outside official structures.

Ukrainian lessons for the Western defence industry

The successes of Ukraine's defence industry pose an uncomfortable question to the West: why do wealthy democracies take ten years to develop a guided munition when Ukraine creates one in seventeen months under bombardment? The answer is multifaceted — regulations, procurement processes, certification requirements, bureaucratic culture — but it is not satisfying. The strategic urgency posed by the build-up of Russia and China should demand a thorough revision of Western defence innovation processes.

Secretary General Rutte himself has called for faster innovation and reduced bureaucracy in Alliance procurement. The Ukrainian model — defence startups, private capital, short development cycles, rapid deployment — is an empirical demonstration that it is possible. The question is whether the West has the political will to reform itself.

The Vyrivnyuvach as an argument for continued support to Ukraine

Every new capability developed by Ukraine strengthens the case for continued Western support. Not only does Ukraine use the aid it receives effectively — it multiplies it by developing its own capabilities, sharing valuable operational data, and innovating in areas where even NATO lags behind. Supporting Ukraine is an investment that generates military returns for the entire Alliance.

The engineers who designed the Vyrivnyuvach are the same people who will train the next generation of armaments experts in a Ukraine that will, sooner or later, join the European Union and — hopefully — NATO. Investing in their capabilities today means investing in the security of tomorrow's Europe.

Ukraine develops a guided bomb at a third of the American cost in seventeen months. If that is not an argument for intensifying the Ukraine-NATO tech-defence partnership, I do not know what could be. Brussels and Washington should send their procurement programme directors to Kyiv for a masterclass.

Two glide bombs, two visions of the world

It is impossible to discuss the Vyrivnyuvach without mentioning its Russian equivalent, the UMPK — the conversion kit that transforms Soviet unguided bombs into glide munitions. The Russian army has used these munitions on a massive scale since 2023, exploiting the considerable stockpiles of unguided bombs accumulated during the Cold War. They have caused enormous destruction in Ukrainian front-line urban areas.

The Vyrivnyuvach is Ukraine's answer to that threat — not a copy, but a technologically more advanced, more precise solution built to different standards. The difference between the two munitions reflects the difference between their creators: on one side, a military power adapting Cold War stockpiles; on the other, a nation innovating from scratch under the existential pressure of survival.

The bomb as a metaphor for Ukrainian resistance

The Vyrivnyuvach — whose Ukrainian name means "the one that levels" or "the equaliser" — is almost too rich in symbolism to resist. It is the project of a nation seeking to equalise the balance of power against an adversary infinitely larger, heavier, and better equipped. Not by imitating it, but by innovating past it. By creating cheaper, more agile, smarter solutions.

That drive is at the core of what Ukraine represents for the West right now: living proof that a determined democracy, backed by human creativity and the support of its allies, can resist and innovate against the brutality of a powerful autocracy.

"Vyrivnyuvach" — the equaliser. In war as in engineering, there are moments when a name says everything. This bomb is not just a weapon — it is a statement of principle: Ukraine is not merely surviving, it is rebalancing the equation. And that, in itself, is a victory.

One first strike does not change a war

It would be unwise to conclude from this first operational strike that the Vyrivnyuvach will transform the military balance in the short term. One successful strike is only a starting point. Industrial scale-up will take months. Pilot and armourer training will take time. Integration into employment doctrines at the operational unit level is a long and complex process.

Moreover, the Russian army is not static. It will adapt its defensive procedures to this new threat — deploying more short-range air defence systems, modifying trench layouts, strengthening electronic warfare systems to disrupt the Vyrivnyuvach's guidance. The technological war is a perpetual game of cat and mouse.

Supply chain constraints

Mass production of guided munitions requires precision electronic components — GNSS sensors, accelerometers, gyroscopes, microprocessors — whose supply can be complex for a wartime country subject to attempted sanctions circumvention. Ukraine will need to carefully manage its supply chain to prevent component delivery bottlenecks from limiting production scale-up.

These logistical risks are real, known to Ukrainian planners, and already being addressed in discussions with Western partners on defence industry support. But they deserve to be named so that the justified enthusiasm surrounding the Vyrivnyuvach stays grounded in operational reality.

I do not want to be the voice that dampens a genuine victory. But war teaches that we celebrate firsts too quickly. The Vyrivnyuvach is a remarkable promise. It will only become a transformative reality if production keeps pace, training is accelerated, and the logistics chain holds. The enthusiasm is justified. Caution remains in order.

Paris as a showcase for Ukrainian innovation

The presentation of the Vyrivnyuvach at Eurosatory 2026 in Paris was a significant moment of military soft power for Ukraine. In front of industrialists, officers, and defence procurement officials from around the world, Ukraine said: we are no longer merely a buyer of arms — we are a supplier, an innovator, a technological partner.

This repositioning of Ukrainian strategic identity carries major diplomatic and industrial implications. Countries seeking affordable guided munitions — particularly in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Africa — may now look to Kyiv as a potential supplier. Not during the war, but in a post-conflict perspective.

F-16 compatibility: a message to Western partners

The ongoing certification for F-16s and Mirages supplied by European allies sends a clear message to those partners: Ukraine is maximising the utility of the platforms it has received by pairing them with its own munitions. This is not an affront to their defence industries — it is a demonstration of ingenuity in the use of available resources. The allies that delivered F-16s to Ukraine can take pride in seeing their aircraft now carry Ukrainian munitions toward Russian targets.

This synergy strengthens the argument for continued aircraft transfers: every additional F-16 provided multiplies the Ukrainian Vyrivnyuvach's delivery capacity. The interdependence between Ukrainian national capabilities and Western support creates a virtuous dynamic.

Showcasing a weapon in Paris before the world's defence procurement officials is asserting that Ukraine exists as an industrial actor, not merely as a recipient of international aid. That is an enormous symbolic shift in posture. And symbolically, in the current war, it counts.

GNSS guidance under pressure from Russian systems

One of the major technical challenges for any guided munition in Ukraine is Russian electronic warfare. Russia deploys GPS and GNSS jamming systems on a massive scale along the front line and in depth, aiming to disrupt adversary munitions guidance. Ukrainian operational reports have noted disruptions affecting even American JDAM-ERs at certain times. The Vyrivnyuvach will have to contend with this reality.

According to available information, the Vyrivnyuvach's guidance system uses modern algorithms specifically designed to ensure precise strikes against targets at long range. The vague phrasing in Ukrainian official communications suggests that anti-jamming solutions have been integrated — but without specifying which ones, a reasonable precaution to avoid tipping off enemy countermeasures.

Integrating combat feedback into the design

One of the decisive advantages of Ukrainian Brave1 is the proximity between designers and end users. DG Industry engineers have access, through Ukrainian institutional channels, to feedback from pilots, intelligence officers, and electronic warfare specialists who face Russian systems every day. This short feedback loop between the front and the workshop is what enables rapid iteration on guidance systems.

By comparison, traditional Western armament programmes integrate combat feedback on cycles of five to ten years. The urgency of the Ukrainian war has compressed that cycle to a matter of months. It is a lesson that guided systems designers in Europe and North America should study carefully.

Russian electronic warfare is real and effective — several Western munitions have been affected. If the Vyrivnyuvach has integrated robust anti-jamming solutions, that is a major competitive advantage. I do not know with certainty whether it has. But the successful first strike is an encouraging signal.

When a Ukrainian startup outpaces European giants in speed

The fact that a relatively young Ukrainian startup developed an operational guided bomb in 17 months at a third of the American price sends an uncomfortable message to Europe's major defence groups — MBDA, Thales, BAE Systems, Diehl. Not a message of immediate commercial threat, but a legitimate question: why do these established industry players take so much longer for comparable results?

The answer is complex — NATO standards, multi-jurisdiction certifications, reliability and qualification requirements at high safety levels — but it does not fully justify the gap. The Brave1 model offers an alternative path worth studying, adapting, and partially replicating in Western defence ecosystems.

Ukrainian industry — NATO industry partnerships: the path forward

Rather than viewing the Vyrivnyuvach as competition for Western guided munitions, the most productive perspective is one of partnership. Companies like DG Industry could work jointly with European manufacturers to develop NATO-certified variants, share anti-jamming guidance technologies, or co-produce wing correction modules for other bomb calibres. The scope for cooperation is wide.

The NATO summit in Ankara should be an opportunity to formalise this kind of defence industry partnership between Ukrainian and European companies. The German-Ukrainian ARX Industries joint venture on ground robots shows this model is already taking shape. There is no reason the same logic should not apply to guided munitions.

Europe's major defence groups should be in Kyiv, not watching from their Paris or London headquarters. Ukrainian expertise in defensive innovation is an unmatched strategic resource. Those who know how to leverage it will be Europe's defence leaders of tomorrow.

A nation that refuses to depend on others' charity

The Vyrivnyuvach is far more than a weapon. It is the manifesto of a nation that decided, under fire and under bombardment, to take its technological destiny into its own hands. After four years of growing dependence on Western transfers — necessary, precious, but never sufficient — Ukraine has crossed a qualitative threshold. It now produces its own precision munitions, with its own technology, to defend its own territory.

This is not a rejection of Western aid. It is its natural complement. A Ukraine that develops its own capabilities is a stronger, more resilient, and more valuable security partner for the Western Alliance. The Vyrivnyuvach's first strike is therefore good news for Brussels, Washington, and Berlin as well: their investment in Ukrainian resistance is generating technological dividends.

The equaliser: levelling the field, one bomb at a time

Vyrivnyuvach — the equaliser. There is something eloquent in that name for a munition designed to level enemy trenches, erase an invader's fortifications, and rebalance the equation in Ukrainian skies. Every bomb dropped from a Ukrainian MiG-29 or F-16 is a declaration: Ukraine is not retreating, it is advancing — technologically, industrially, militarily. This bomb says what words sometimes struggle to convey: we are here, we create, we strike, we hold.

The Vyrivnyuvach is not the end of a process — it is a beginning. After this first national guided bomb, others will follow, heavier, more precise, with greater range. Ukraine has entered the era of industrial precision production. And that era is one Moscow will have to contend with for a long time.

By Maxime Marquette, columnist

Editorial stance

I am not a journalist but a columnist and analyst. My expertise lies in observing and analysing the geopolitical, economic and strategic dynamics that shape our world. My work is to take political strategies apart, to understand global economic movements, to put the decisions of international actors in context and to offer analytical perspectives on the changes that are redefining our societies.

I do not claim the cold objectivity of traditional journalism, which stops at reporting facts. I claim analytical clarity, rigorous interpretation and a deep understanding of the complex issues that concern us all. My role is to give meaning to the facts, to place them in their historical and strategic context, and to offer a critical reading of events.

Method and sources

This text keeps the basic distinction between verified facts and interpretive analysis. The rule never changes: a factual claim is published only when a verifiable source supports it, and the sources this article actually used are listed under Sources, never here.

Primary source families used by the publication, when the story has them: official statements from governments and international institutions, public statements by political leaders, reports from intergovernmental organisations, dispatches from recognised international news agencies.

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Nature of the analysis

The analyses, interpretations and perspectives in the analytical sections of this article are a critical, contextual synthesis based on the information available, the trends observed and the expert comments cited in the sources consulted.

My role is to interpret these facts, to set them in the context of today's geopolitical and economic dynamics, and to give them a coherent meaning within the larger story of the changes shaping our time. These analyses reflect expertise built through continuous observation of international affairs and an understanding of the strategic mechanisms that drive global actors.

This article describes a documented state of affairs on its publication date, not a prediction: later developments may shift its outlook. No update is promised in advance; when an article is corrected or completed, the change is dated in the text.