Russia used a brand new type of gliding bomb against Ukraine

Russian forces have used a new type of gliding bomb for the first time according to sources that spoke with the military consultancy group, Defense Express.

Defense Express noted that the Russian-made UPAB-1500B was designed to destroy highly-protected objects and said that it was now being used against targets in Ukraine. 

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“The first use of this type of bomb was recorded a few weeks ago against... objects in the Chernihiv region,” wrote Defense Express in a post on its website.

Defense Express learned about the use of a UPAB-1500B from an unnamed source and said that fragments of an exploded bomb had been discovered which confirmed its use. 

“On one of the wreckage were remnants of markings that correspond to UPAB-1500B,” the defense organization wrote, though they did not provide proof of their claim. 

The UPAB-1500B is an extremely dangerous weapon and one that can be fired from any Russian aircraft according to Boyko Nikolov from the newsgroup Bulgarian Military. 

“The bomb has a diameter of 400 mm and a length of at least 5 meters,” Nikolov wrote, adding that it “is categorized as a large-caliber guided planning bomb.”

“The main targets are stationary objects of small and medium sizes, as well as bunkers or defensive facilities,” Nikolov continued. 

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Nikolov went on to state that Russia’s new gliding bomb weighed slightly over one-and-a-half tonnes and has a payload of 1010 kilograms.

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The defining feature of the UPAB-1500B is its “built-in inertial and satellite navigation" according to Nikolov, writing that the bomb is of the “fire and forget type.”

This type of navigation system makes Russia’s new bomb a challenging weapon for Ukraine's Defense Forces to counter because it can be fired from far away as well as self-guided to its targets. 

“Russian attack aircraft can drop the bomb and activate its guidance at a distance of up to 50 km,” Nikolov wrote, allowing “Russian aircraft [to] avoid enemy anti-aircraft missile systems.”

Photo by Twitter @LogKa11

“Thus,” Nikolov added, “the risk of front-line combat or attack aircraft being hit is reduced,” which would give Russia another edge over the Ukrainian Air Force.

“The bomb is highly effective when used on protective concrete structures,” Nikolov wrote. “Bunkers and fortifications are the most desirable bomb targets.”

The UPAB-1500B does have some limitations, though. It cannot attack moving targets according to Nikolov and using it to attack civilian buildings or anything that isn't highly fortified would be “economically unprofitable” for the Russian military. 

Ukrainska Pravda’s Kateryna Tyshchenko’s noted in her report on Russia’s new guided bomb that it was first unveiled at the MAKS 2019 exhibition in its export version, K029BE.