(PatriotWise.com) — Russia has reportedly begun using upgraded “smart” glide bombs in Ukraine, which could place added pressure on the country’s air defenses, Newsweek reported.
According to the Institute for the Study of War, Russian forces are employing guided glide bombs, including the FAB-1500 which uses laser and satellite guidance to boost accuracy.
The FAB-1500 is the largest in a series of “smart” glide bombs that also include the smaller FAB-500 and FAB-250.
Weighing 1,550 kilograms, the damage from an FAB-1500 has a radius of up to sixteen hundred feet, according to a Russian military blogger.
The FAB-1500 can be used as a bunker buster, able to destroy anything up to 20 meters below the ground. It can blast through reinforced concrete up to 3 meters thick.
The FAB-1500 can be launched from Russia’s Su-30, Su-34, and Su-35 aircraft.
Earlier this year, Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ignat first raised the alarm about the Russian “smart” glide bombs, describing the FAB series as a “new threat” that Ukraine must “urgently” respond to.
Mykola Oleshchuk, the head of Ukraine’s Air Force, said in April that the FAB-500 was being used throughout the front line and warned that there were signs that Moscow was preparing for the mass usage of the FAB-1500.
Unlike Russia’s UPAB-1500 glide bombs that have built-in wings, the FAB-1500 has bolt-on wings and a guidance kit that is suited for mass deployment.
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