🧵 An interesting data set from a group of Western aviation experts, one of whom I'll quote in this short thread. Between May 3 and June 15, Russia dropped no fewer than 64 FAB glide bombs on… Belgorod, Russia.
In other words, almost every day for a month and a half, Russia has been bombing itself. Not intentionally, of course. But why? There are several reasons.
Aviation expert: "The kit that makes the FAB a 'smart' bomb is often faulty. Most likely it's not hermetic and made out of the wrong type of metal, i.e. something other than duraluminium. This means the electronic components are open to humidity and cold temperatures. Hence the failures."
"Another factor is the tendency for 'just filling the plan.' The Russian Air Force is using bombs they know perfectly well are dysfunctional. They just don’t care because everything is in order according to the paperwork: the FAB was loaded and dropped. Check."
And: "Russian pilots are using Indian and Chinese-made GPS devices and these may sometimes prove faulty."
"We also assess that Russian pilots are afraid. They are worried about Ukraine’s air defense capabilities and are releasing FABs from as far as possible, which results in some bombs landing in their own territory."
Note that FAB glide bombs have otherwise been devastating for Ukraine. In the same time period, May to mid-June, Russia launched thousands of them, harrying defenders seeking to recapture re-occupied parts of Kharkiv. See, for instance, this thread:
https://twitter.com/osintua/status/1803089127388184736
Nevertheless, heavy reliance on this munition has come at an under-publicized cost for Moscow. /END
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