UK: Russia's glide-bomb mishaps point to crew fatigue and poor training

The UK defense ministry says repeated friendly-fire incidents with Russian glide munitions reveal flaws in Moscow's airstrike campaign. An intelligence update cites open-source group Astra, which has posted footage of destruction on Russian soil and occupied Ukrainian territory.

Astra reported that the Russian air force dropped at least 25 glide bombs on its controlled territories so far this year, after 143 incidents in 2025 and 165 in 2024. Russia began using dozens of air-launched glide bombs daily in 2023 and has steadily increased the tempo.

The ministry estimates the Kremlin now flies over 200 fighter sorties each day, delivering roughly 180 to 250 glide bombs. The weapons are often FAB general-purpose bombs fitted with UMPK guidance kits and are launched from inside friendly territory; analysts have linked earlier friendly-fire incidents to faulty or poor-quality guidance kits, which have sometimes injured or killed civilians in border cities such as Belgorod.

Russia, Belgorod

russia, glide bombs, friendly fire, uk defense, astra, umpk kits, fab bombs, fighter sorties, belgorod, crew fatigue