A Russian Su-34 fighter jet capable of carrying UPAB-1500 guided bombs prepares for a combat mission (Photo: Eurasiantimes).
In a statement issued this week, Yuri Ihnat, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, said the force was facing a “new threat” from the Russian military. According to Ihnat, Russia’s introduction of the UPAB-1500 guided glide bomb has caused many difficulties for Ukraine.
"This is a threat to us and we need to deal with them as soon as possible," Mr. Ihat stressed.
The spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force also admitted that the country's military currently does not have suitable weapons to deal with the UPAB-1500 bomb.
“We cannot stop these weapons, especially the fighter jets they are carried on,” Ihnat added.
UPAB-1500, also known as K029BE, is a guided bomb designed to destroy enemy ground targets, including command posts, defensive structures, combat vehicles and troop concentrations.
The UPAB-1500 was first introduced in 2019 and is considered by observers to be one of the most powerful bombs in the Russian military's arsenal. The Russian military uses this bomb to equip new-generation fighter jets and strategic bombers of the country's air force.
UPAB-1500 is over 5m long, 0.4m in diameter and can carry a warhead weighing up to 1 ton. The "huge" amount of explosives inside the warhead is enough to help this bomb penetrate the enemy's concrete fortifications.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense , the UPAB-1500 guided bomb can be dropped from an altitude of 15km and hit the target with an error of only about 10m. Possessing a flight path planning system and satellite navigation has increased the precision attack capability of this type of bomb.
In addition to the UPAB-1500 bomb, Russia is also regularly using the FAB-500M bomb to attack Ukrainian targets. According to spokesman Yuri Ihnat, the Russian army has recently dropped up to 20 of these bombs per day, mainly concentrated in the eastern Ukraine battlefield.
Designed as a fragmentation bomb, the FAB-500M-62 is typically used to attack and destroy enemy military infrastructure, railway transit points, light armored vehicles, and manpower.
With the ability to be integrated on many different types of aircraft such as Su-27, Su-30, Su-34, Su-24 or MiG-29, the FAB-500M-62 bomb can fly about 15km after being dropped from an altitude of 570-12,000m. The speed when hitting the ground of the FAB-500M-62 bomb is up to 1,900km/h, allowing it to increase its destructive power from kinetic energy when colliding with the target.
To deal with these powerful bombs, Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuri Ihnat asked Western allies to urgently provide modern interceptor fighters to deal with bombers from Russia.
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