Russia upgrades unguided FAB-250 into high-accuracy glide bombs: TASS
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Russia is increasing its utilization of glide munitions in the Ukraine war as the war effort continues to require new changes on the front.
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In this photo taken from a video provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on, February 17, 2022, Su-30 fighters of the Russian and Belarusian air forces fly in a joint mission during military drills in Belarus (AP)
The FAB-250 air bombs, used by the Russian Aerospace Force, have been put on a winged platform and equipped with a navigation system, effectively turning them into high-accuracy guided munitions, Russian news agency TASS reported, citing a military source.
Glide bombs have also been put into use by Moscow in recent weeks, which are bombs with added-on wings and navigation systems that allow them to be glided, as suggested by the name, towards ground targets, producing "devastating" effects.
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Soviet aircraft bomb FAB-250-M62, Aviation Museum in Kiev, April 20, 2014 (Wikimedia Commons)
"The FAB-250 bombs were installed on winged platforms and equipped with an inertial navigation system. After being detached from the aircraft that carries it at a speed of 800-900 km/h, the bomb glides towards a target that may be 80 kilometers away," the source told TASS. However, the agency underlined that it has no official confirmation regarding the news.
Guided bombs of this sort have been dropped from Sukhoi-34 multirole bombers throughout the Ukraine war.
Russian glide bomb airstrikes destroy Ukrainian army weapons and vehicle warehouses in Belozerka, Kherson pic.twitter.com/VrPIHmcRJw
— LogKa (@LogKa11) May 2, 2023
The FAB-250 is a Soviet-made air bomb weighing 250 kilograms with a highly-explosive warhead. Russian aircraft heavily utilize the munition, as well as the air forces of former Soviet republics and some foreign customers.
This comes after the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) revealed that the Russian military has integrated new tactics to surpass Ukrainian missile detection systems.
The US-based think-tank highlighted the 4 recent Kalibr missile attacks by Russian forces on Ukrainian positions in the city of Nikolaev, which killed one militant and injured 23 others according to Reuters.
Ukraine’s Operational Command South which is part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces says Russia employed tactics including the utilization of “location features and trajectory changes,” to successfully target the Ukrainian position and avoid detection.
Moreover, Russia is increasingly using the airspace in light of leaks from the Pentagon that said Ukrainian air defense capabilities are under deep pressure as supplies of Soviet-produced S-300 and Buk-M1 ammunition, which make up 89% of Ukraine’s anti-air capabilities, run low.
Meanwhile, Western-produced systems such as the Patriot batteries are experiencing low stockpiles.
