FAB bombs: The new face of Russian war tactics in Kursk
The Russians are not changing their tactics of attacking targets without regard for civilian casualties, even if these targets are on their own territory. A guided FAB bomb of immense destructive power fell on a boarding school in Sludza in the Kursk region. We explain what this weapon is.
As the Ukrainians admit, the Russians are bombing their own country's territory like any other part of the front, as exemplified by the attack using a glide bomb FAB with UMPK modules on a boarding school in Sudża, under the rubble of which at least 95 people were trapped. These are mostly elderly and children, as reported by the portal Militarnyj.
Sudża is the largest town occupied by the Ukrainians during the attack on the Kursk region. Before the war, its population was about 5,000 people, and now this number has reportedly decreased to about 200 residents.
Russian war tactics — FAB bombs are a key element
Russian war tactics since World War II rely on masses of equipment and firepower to neutralize resistance points. Currently, so-called exploitation infantry groups are sent for assaults, whose sole task is continuous reconnaissance by combat, i.e., forcing enemy fire. This is where the term "meat assaults" comes from, as very few survive them.
Then, the Russians direct artillery or aerial bombardment with much more powerful FAB aviation bombs equipped with UMPK (Unified Planning and Correction Module Kit) on such located points of Ukrainian resistance. These bombs have enough power to destroy virtually any field fortifications.
After such bombardment, the Russians send another wave of exploitation infantry and repeat the attacks until successful. This is a simple tactic unacceptable to any modern armed forces, yet it cannot be denied effectiveness in some regions. In particular, this refers to the Donetsk region, where the Ukrainians have command and personnel shortages.
Due to the lack of a sufficient number of medium-range air defense systems capable of shooting down aircraft carrying FABs at distances over 100 km, such as the Patriot or SAMP/T, the Ukrainians must conduct maneuver defense, continuously retreating to reduce losses.
FAB aviation bombs — simple weapons being copies of Western ideas
Russian FAB bombs with UMPK modules are copies of American JDAM-ER bombs. The key is a lightweight aluminum module containing a section with satellite and inertial navigation, control surfaces, and folding wings. It is then mounted to ordinary FAB series aviation bombs from the Soviet era weighing 500 kg, 1,500 kg, and even 3,000 kg.
Such a bomb dropped from an altitude of over 10 km can travel more than 40 km and hit with precision in a few or even several dozen metres in the case of GPS signal jamming. However, such a deviation, especially with bombs like FAB-1500 or FAB-3000 containing approximately 680 kg and 1,500 kg of TNT, respectively, does not matter in the slightest. In their case, the shockwave turns all structures into rubble over an area of several hundred metres.
