The use of a potent aerial bomb by Russia has started to weaken Ukrainian defences and tip the odds in favour of the front lines. By transforming a simple Soviet weapon into a glide bomb capable of creating a crater fifteen metres wide, it has achieved this.
The FAB- 1500, a1.5- tonne lemon with high snares, is delivered by fighter spurts from 60- 70 kilometres down, out of Ukrainian air defences. This is another illustration of Russia’s war in Ukraine, causing massive destruction before trying to take home.
Recent videos from the Donetsk region show the immense power of bombs hitting thermal power plants, factories, and tower blocks, where Ukrainians coordinate defences.
The FAB-1500, a Russian tactical jet bomb
uses a guidance system and pop-out wings to glide towards its target, offering a more destructive stand-off strike option and enabling pilots to stay further away from enemy defences
A soldier from Ukraine’s 46th Separate Airmobile Brigade reported that Russian orcs have increased their aggression in Krasnohorivka, Donetsk, using air force assets, particularly the FAB-1500, compared to artillery shelling.
Why do they employ the FAB-1500? because it causes quite significant harm. You will undoubtedly have a concussion if you live.
The morale of the soldiers is severely strained. Not every one among us can take it. Although they have become rather accustomed to the FAB-500 by now, the FAB-1500 is terrible.
The Russian advance in the Donetsk area has relied heavily on the deployment of FAB bombs, particularly in the destruction of Ukrainian defences close to Avdiivka, that fell in February.
A spokesperson for the Ukrainian air force, Yuri Ihnat, told CNN that hundreds of air bombs were launched in a matter of days leading up to and during the Battle of Avdiivka. In just 48 hours, 250 of them were utilised in the direction of Avdiivka.
At a facility close to Moscow, the FAB-1500, the most potent of a series of “dumb bombs” from the Soviet period, is being transformed into an affordable yet effective missile.
Senior research scholar Justin Bronk of the Royal United Services Academy in London states that “the basic explosives payload is something they have in huge numbers, but producing the glide kits is a bottleneck.”
When the weapon’s precision was being tested in September of last year, Russian military bloggers started making references to it. For the first time, “after many months of trials and errors,” an FAB-1500 had “accurately” struck its “combat target,” according to the Fighter Bomber telegraph channel.
Fighterbomber, a Russian military-affiliated platform with nearly half a million subscribers, claimed that a new glide kit increased the range of its FAB-1500 bombs, with accuracy within five metres. Both Ukrainian and Russian sources reported the use of the bombs.
In January, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu visited the JSC Tactical Missiles Corporation plant in Moscow, showcasing wrap-around wings for bombs and a high-precision munition that converts old free-fall bombs into weapons that glide to targets.
The plant’s director reported a 40% increase in productivity due to 24/7 production. However, the converted FAB bombs are only effective against fixed targets, as the main Ukrainian positions are known to Russians.
Ukrainian air force claims to have shot down several Su-34 fighters, but most defences lack the range to hit planes 70 kilometres away.
“Our air defence is getting more powerful but still we don’t have enough,” Ihnat said in an interview .Guided glide bombs are flying farther beyond our defences in an attempt to attack rear control posts, rear supplies, ammo, and other targets in addition to our frontline positions.
The assault aircraft, which consists of the Su-35 and Su-34 bombers, do not get as near as they would want. Even yet, we could down these planes farther away [from our front lines] if we had greater long-range air defence, Ihnat added.
Russians are using glide bombs more effectively than long-range bombers in the war, according to Bronk. The US Patriot complex is the only defence with the range to counter the threat, but Ukrainians have limited numbers and missiles. Ukrainian officials are pleading for longer-range air defence weapons, with F-16 combat aircraft unlikely to take to the skies until the second half of the year.
Ukrainian forces, particularly in Donetsk, are facing a surge of Russian air strikes, often exceeding 100 per day, causing them to lose defence and shelter.
