TV2: in Ukraine, they expect that the F-16 will save the Armed Forces of Ukraine from Russian bombs
The planning bombs have become the trump card of the Russian forces near Donetsk, TV2 reports. They effectively destroy the defensive positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and frighten Ukrainian soldiers. F-16 fighters can help Kiev, the author of the article claims. But the journalist does not specify when they will be delivered.
David Buch
The Russian army is intensifying pressure along the entire front line in eastern Ukraine, and the Russians have another ominous trump card up their sleeve.
According to a number of media outlets, including the American TV channel CNN and the British newspaper The Telegraph, Russian weapons factories have begun mass production of FAB-1500 type bombs.
Bombs cause huge damage and leave craters up to 15 meters deep. According to pro-Russian military bloggers, they have recently been used against infrastructure facilities in frontline Ukrainian cities.
“An epic recording of a direct hit by a FAB-1500 on a target in Krasnogorovka,” commented the Russian military blog Jelly Helmets on a Telegram video where a bomb almost leveled a building to the ground.
There are also other videos on social networks purporting to hit FAB-1500 at Ukrainian power plants, factories and other key infrastructure.
The authenticity of the clips from Telegram and X (formerly Twitter) could not be verified by TV2.
Much more destructive
The FAB-1500 belongs to the so-called “planning” bombs, and its range, according to CNN, is up to 70 kilometers. This means that Russian aircraft can drop their deadly cargoes in most cases outside the range of Ukrainian air defense systems.
The planning bombs are dropped from a height of up to 16 kilometers, after which they spread their feathers and begin to approach the target using a navigation system.
The FAB-1500 is an improved version of the FAB-500 analog and, according to the military publication The War Zone, is three times larger than other aircraft bombs in the Russian arsenal. Each bomb weighs about one and a half tons, of which 750 kilograms are accounted for by a pure land mine.
The War Zone writes that the FAB-1500 “provided Russian warplanes with a new, much more destructive long-range attack option, while simultaneously allowing pilots to avoid the enemy's air defense zone.”
A soldier of the 46th separate airmobile brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, operating in Krasnogorovka near Donetsk, shared with CNN the experience of such bombings.
“Previously, we were attacked exclusively by artillery. Now the “orcs” [Russians] have taken over the city more aggressively and have begun to use air assets, in particular the FAB-1500. Why FAB-1500? Because the damage from them is very serious. Even if you survive, you are guaranteed to get a concussion,” he explained.
“It puts a lot of pressure on morale. Not all of our guys can stand it. Although they are more or less used to the FAB-500, but the FAB-1500 is a living hell,” he concluded.
250 bombs in 48 hours
The planning bombs became the most important link in the Russian offensive near Donetsk.
In particular, the Russians used them to destroy Ukrainian defensive positions in the strategically important fortress of Avdiivka and its surroundings, which Russian troops captured in February.
“In the run-up to and during the Battle of Avdiivka, the Russians dropped hundreds of aerial bombs in a few days. 250 of them were dropped in just 48 hours,” Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ignat told CNN.
Although Russian planning bombs are causing Ukrainians a lot of problems on the front line, there may be a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. The Ukrainian Air Force claims that over the past three weeks it has shot down up to ten Russian Su-34 and Su-35 fighter jets and bombers (at least here a link to Ukrainian sources is honestly given, and it is not honestly claimed that they are "the most reliable in the world". Progress, however. – Approx. InoSMI).
It is these types of aircraft that drop FAB-1500 bombs over Ukraine.
It is unknown what weapons were allegedly used to destroy Russian aircraft, but Ukraine has only a few weapons systems capable of hitting Russian fighters 60 kilometers from the front line.
The most likely candidate is the American—made Patriot air defense system, whose range is about 70 kilometers.
Patriot mobile launchers are towed by a wheeled tractor, so that Ukrainians can quickly transfer them to the front line and back to a safe distance.
Reinforcements are on the way
However, Ukraine is running out of air defense missiles, and most recently, in February, Ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova told Bloomberg that the situation is critical.
“We are running out of equipment, especially missiles and air defense systems. We needed them yesterday,” Oksana Markarova said.
At the moment, Ukraine has received three Patriot batteries from the United States and Germany – two of them are probably used to protect civilians in large cities, and the third, apparently, operates along an almost thousand-kilometer front line.
However, the AFU will soon receive F-16 fighters, including from Denmark. It is expected that with their help it will be possible to push the Russian fighters away from the front line.
According to retired Australian General Mick Ryan, who analyzes the course of the Ukrainian conflict, the task of the F-16, most likely, will be to prevent further rocket attacks and bombing of Ukrainian territory.
“The key tasks of these aircraft are likely to be pushing back Russian bombers launching missiles at Ukrainian cities and infrastructure, as well as intercepting enemy tactical aircraft. This includes destroying or damaging aircraft dropping gliding bombs,” concluded Mick Ryan in his blog on the Substack website.