Russia’s Su-24 with “mysterious ammunition” appears

To defend against the Russian attack: A photo of a Ukrainian Su-24 front-line bomber with unusual ammunition is circulating on the Internet.

Kiev – The war in Ukraine is also a kind of weapons laboratory. This applies to Ukraine and to Russia. Recently, for example, a video of a Russian soldier with a “Thunderstorm” jammer made the rounds.

Ukraine War: Ukrainian bomber with new weapon appears

The latest example: A visually unusual guided missile carried by a Ukrainian Su-24 front-line bomber. The online portal The War Zone shared a photo that is said to show the fighter plane with this weapon. The report does not say which weapon exactly is involved.

The War Zone speculates that it is a guided missile developed by the Ukrainians themselves. The post speaks of “mysterious ammunition”. And that the Ukrainian armed forces need “more air-launched long-range ammunition” without “foreign restrictions”.

Weapons in the Ukraine war: Is Kiev developing guided precision bombs?

The War Zone discovered the video of the fighter jet on the unofficial Telegram channel “UkrAirForce”. An accompanying post stated that the Su-24 with the aircraft number 09 was from the 7th Tactical Air Force Brigade and that the footage was shot by a two-seater Su-27UB “Flanker” from the 831st Tactical Air Force Brigade. The weapon is not fired in the video.

The War Zone therefore speculates that it may have been a so-called captive carry test, in which a munition such as a missile remains attached to the fighter aircraft during a mission in order to collect basic airworthiness and other data. The weapon shown consists of three parts: a so-called nose at the front, a middle section and a tail with the engine. According to the specialist portal, this could indicate that it is a type of kit to convert existing unguided bombs into guided precision bombs. This is an increasingly common concept in the development of precision munitions, according to the analysis of the Ukraine war.