Russia escalates violence in Ukraine with FAB‑1500-M54 bomb deployment
Russians spare no expense and are using increasingly powerful weapons in Ukraine. In one of the recent attacks, an FAB-1500-M54 was used. Furthermore, reports are emerging that Moscow has decided to start mass production of such bombs. What do we know about this weapon?
On March 6, a video surfaced online showing an attack by Russian aviation, dropping the FAB-1500-M54 bomb on Ukrainian buildings. At the same time, Ukrainian sources indicate that there might be more such attacks in the near future.
The Russians are starting mass production of FAB-1500-M54
Already in November 2023, the commander of the Ukrainian air forces, Mykola Oleshchuk, warned that "Russia is showing signs of preparations for mass production of FAB-1500 bombs." In February of the same year, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visited a factory where, according to local propaganda, they had been produced since the war's onset. However, this is not the first time the local media outlets have strayed from the truth.
Yet, the fact remains that mass production and further deployment of FAB-1500-M54 bombs on Ukrainian soil will have significant consequences. It is the heaviest glide bomb in the Russian arsenal.
The FAB-1500-M54 is more than 2.7 meters long, and its diameter stands at roughly 63 centimetres. It is a bomb that weighs about 1500 kilograms, with as much as 675 kilograms being the weight of the warhead itself.
high destructive power of the FAB-1500-M54
The West should be concerned about the destructive capacity of the FAB-1500-M54, among other factors. A large warhead and operational freedom (as a fragmentation and blast bomb causing destruction through the shards of the burst shell and the blast wave) enable it to inflict extensive damage. The video shared on March 6 showcases an explosion fireball approximately 20 stories high.
With a declared accuracy of up to 5 metres, the blast radius reached by the FAB-1500-M54 extends to about 500 metres. This bomb enables the Russians to effectively destroy not only buildings or military equipment but also fortifications located up to 20 metres underground and damage 3-metre-thick reinforced concrete structures.
As previously explained by Łukasz Michalik, journalist at Virtualna Polska, this includes the use of UMPK kits, i.e., foldable wings with a guidance module, transforming regular bombs into guided glide bombs. This technique can be seen as a somewhat cruder equivalent of the American JDAM-ER conversion kit.
Such bombs can be carried by selected Russian fighter jets. Currently, these are likely only the Su-24 and Su-34, which, despite recent losses, Russia still has many at its disposal.
