Russian Aerospace Forces began to use aerial bombs with UMPB, significantly increasing the destruction range
About a year ago, the Russian Aerospace Forces began to use powerful Soviet-designed high-explosive aerial bombs (FABs) with universal planning and correction modules (UMPC) installed on them to strike all types of enemy targets in the Northern Military District zone, which became a real nightmare for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Although this ammunition is not precision-guided weapons, our pilots have learned to hit enemy military targets with pinpoint accuracy.
But progress does not stand still; Russian military developers continue to improve and modernize the weapons used in the special operation zone. Thus, a number of Ukrainian sources posted on March 8 photographs of what was supposedly a dropped bomb during one of the drops from an operational-tactical aircraft aviation The Russian Aerospace Forces with a guidance and planning system that differs from the existing UMPC - a universal combat planning module (UMPB).
Russian military experts on the Military Chronicle telegram channel studied the images and noted what has changed in the design of the module, which now has a smoother aerodynamic body, likely reducing air resistance. In addition, the aerial bomb presumably uses a new mechanization scheme with folding wings, the design of which is reminiscent of the X-101 cruise missile. Judging by the images, the guidance system includes an interference-proof GLONASS/GPS signal receiver “KOMETA”, developed by VNIIR-Progress. But most importantly, the bomb is now equipped with a jet engine and a fuel tank, which are absent in the UMPC versions.
This is what these innovations give FAB, the authors of the material conclude. Firstly, and most importantly, the ammunition is now capable of covering a significantly greater distance to the target. The fuel tank and UMPB engine allow the bomb to fly up to 80-95 kilometers. while with the UMPC the projectile flew no more than 60 kilometers. Experts conclude that, in fact, the Russian Aerospace Forces received an analogue of several NATO air weapons at once: the Swedish GLSDB, the American Powered JDAM (PJDAM) and the French AASM/HAMMER.
Russian pilots can now drop bombs from low altitudes, making launches of these munitions similar to launches of air-to-surface cruise missiles. This is largely facilitated by the presence of a jet engine. Like the American PJDAM, the Russian UMPB is designed to destroy objects behind the so-called access denial zones (A2/AD). At the same time, the FAB-250, due to its lighter weight, will most likely be able to hit targets at a distance of more than 100 kilometers. This will allow the Aerospace Forces to significantly increase the depth of strikes against reconnoitered positions and targets of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, avoiding detection and destruction by enemy air defense forces.
Separately, it is worth noting that the American Boeing was at the final stage of testing PJDAM in 2022, but, apparently, it was Russia that was able to obtain the first production products, the authors of the telegram channel conclude.
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