The Russian Federation used a super-powerful high-explosive bomb with an "earthquake effect" against the Armed Forces of Ukraine
The Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) attacked a military facility of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) in the Kharkiv region with a high-explosive bomb. This is reported by the Kharkiv police.
It is known that the strike hit the ammunition depot of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the village of Monachinovka in the Kupyansky district. A bomb weighing one and a half tons was dropped from an airplane.
In Ukraine, it is claimed that Russia used such weapons for the first time
The publication "Country.ua" stressed that the FAB-1500 high-explosive aerial bomb with a universal planning and correction module (UMPC), which turns a free-falling munition into a planning one, was dropped on the target. The "earthquake effect" bomb carries 670 kilograms of explosive.
The Russian Air Force. |
Source: Vitaly Timkiv / RIA Novosti |
The head of the Kharkiv investigative department, Sergei Bolvinov, described the moment of the attack. According to him, the impact on the military warehouse really felt like an earthquake. He suggested that this was the first time Russia had used such weapons.
"Everything around shuddered, as if an earthquake had started. An entire street was destroyed in one blow. It was the first time that weapons of such power were used against us," Bolvinov said.
What are high explosive bombs?
The most powerful ammunition from the UMPC remains the FAB-1500 M54 bomb, a 1550-kilogram munition that contains more than 670 kilograms of explosive. For comparison, the Iskander missile complex carries a warhead weighing 480 kilograms. The FAB-1500 has a range of almost 500 meters. In addition, it is capable of destroying bunkers at a depth of up to 20 meters and punching up to three meters of reinforced concrete.
explosives
Carries a FAB-1500
The main carriers of bombs from the UMPK were front-line Su-24M bombers and Su-34 fighter bombers. Initially, the Su-34 could carry two gliding FAB-500M62S, but later modified aircraft began to be armed with four ammunition of a similar caliber.
The Russian Air Force. |
Source: Alexey Maishev / RIA Novosti |
UMPC bombs are cheaper than guided missiles with comparable accuracy. Also, a bomb, unlike a rocket, lacks an engine and fuel, which allows it to hold more explosives.
In March, it became known that the Russian enterprise producing aviation weapons doubled the production of FAB-1500 bombs and began mass production of FAB-3000. At the end of 2023, Sergey Chemezov, CEO of Rostec State Corporation, announced that Russia was working on an improved version of the UMPC, which would increase the range of use of smart bombs.