Russia tests dangerous guided bombs over Kharkiv: A new threat
The Russians have boasted about their first attack using the guided variant of the powerful FAB-3000 bomb. We explain why these pose a huge threat to Ukrainians.
The first recording showing the effect of a powerful glide bomb based on the FAB-3000 has appeared online. As can be seen in the video below, the target was probably a building that looked like an old hospital or school located in the Kharkiv region.
However, it is evident that the bomb missed by a few tens of metres, but its explosion was so powerful that the building was severely damaged, and other surrounding buildings were turned into piles of rubble.
FAB-3000 bombs - nothing left at the point of impact
The FAB-3000 bombs are a construct that originated during World War II, characterized by a mass of 3 tonnes, half of which is explosive material encased in a thick steel body.
Originally, it was an unguided, free-falling bomb unsuitable for attacking targets on a modern battlefield, as the plane carrying it would have to fly directly over the target. So far, the Russians have used it only once for bombing the Azovstal metallurgical complex located in besieged Mariupol, over which they had airspace control.
The situation changed in 2023 when the Russians managed to launch mass production of conversion kits UMPK (Unified Planning and Correction Module Kit), heavily inspired by American kits like JDAM-ER.
The idea is simple because it involves adding a special module to the old aerial bomb that contains an inertial and satellite navigation system. Additionally, a section with folding wings and control surfaces is added, creating a precise striking device with a powerful force capable of hitting with an accuracy of a few tens of metres from a distance of about 70 kilometres.
It is worth noting that the larger the bomb, the less significant the missing error. In the case of the FAB-3000 bomb, the blast wave range is several hundred metres, and the fragment impact range can exceed even 1 kilometre. In developing the UMPK kit for this bomb, the resumption of its production, which the Russians boasted about in February 2024, makes perfect sense.
Such a bomb can destroy even the most powerful field fortifications, which are capable of withstanding shelling from, for example, artillery shells of calibre 155 or 203 millimetres containing less than 10 kilograms of TNT or, for example, rockets used in multiple launch rocket systems like M142 HIMARS or BM-27 Uragan having several times larger TNT load.
Defending against FAB-3000 bombs and their lighter versions is very difficult
FAB-3000 aerial bombs or FAB-1500 are very difficult targets because, when dropped from a high altitude, they reach speeds of up to several hundred metres per second, and their thick steel shell provides high resistance to typical anti-aircraft weapons with fragmentation warheads. Only short-range anti-aircraft gun systems like Gepard or Skyranger loaded with armour-piercing ammunition have a chance to shoot them down.
This is not an optimal solution, however. The best option is combating aircraft carrying glide bombs before they drop them. The Russians can use bombers like Tu-22M3 or tactical bombers like Su-34 to carry FAB-3000 bombs.
Due to the need for dropping bombs from a high altitude, aircraft are vulnerable to medium-range systems that can shoot down planes from a distance of over 100 kilometres. Ukraine managed well during 2022 and the first half of 2023, when it still had missile supplies for its S-300 systems, which is no longer possible. Now, Ukraine has too few Patriot or SAMP/T systems to protect all front sections and critical infrastructure.
The second option is to use their aircraft armed with medium-range missiles to hunt down Russian aircraft, which is also not feasible at present. Only the emergence of a larger number of F-16 aircraft along with AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles, ideally coordinated by aircraft such as AWACS, can improve the situation for Ukrainians.
