The ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine this year has seen an increased use of glide bombs by the Russian military. These bombs are modified from the powerful FAB-1500 bombs of the past. The former Soviet Union left behind a significant inventory of FAB-1500 bombs, weighing 1.5 tons each, equipped with guidance control devices and folding wings. When released from high altitude, they can glide for 50-60 kilometers. Despite their crude nature, these bombs pack a tremendous explosive force.
The United States has also provided Ukraine with a large quantity of precision-guided munitions, including precision artillery shells, guided rockets, JDAM bombs, land-launched small diameter bombs, and more. However, most of these weapons rely on GPS satellite positioning for guidance, and the Russian military has deployed a significant amount of GPS jammers, significantly reducing the effectiveness of these precision munitions and hindering their capabilities.
The issue of battlefield electronic interference is not new to the U.S. military, although not as severe as in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. The U.S. military typically holds absolute air superiority, allowing them to aggressively target all enemy electromagnetic radiation sources, effectively neutralizing threats posed by various radars and electronic warfare equipment. As a result, U.S. ground forces do not encounter the complex electromagnetic environment faced by Ukrainian forces.
Nevertheless, the U.S. military is considering how to achieve precise target hits in the event of GPS failure, leading to the development of multimode hybrid guidance systems. The GPS+laser-guided JDAM, known as LJDAM, is suitable for retrofitting ordinary aerial bombs ranging from 500 to 2000 pounds, with an operational range of up to 56 kilometers. The U.S. military has also developed a low collateral damage small diameter bomb, SDB, weighing 250 pounds, with an operational range of up to 110 kilometers. The compact design of the SDB allows four bombs to be mounted on a rack that previously carried a 2,000-pound bomb, significantly increasing the number of munitions carried.
Russia has emulated the U.S. JDAM guidance kit and developed the UMPK package, with the prototype first appearing in 2003. The glide bombs mentioned earlier, FAB-1500, utilize the UMPK kit. Aside from the simplified version of the UMPK bomb, Russia has also utilized specially designed UPAB glide guided bombs on the Ukrainian battlefield, employing inertial navigation combined with satellite positioning, including UPAB-1500, 500, and 50S variants.
More recently, the Russian military has started using a small guided bomb called UMPB D-30SN, which utilizes both inertial navigation and satellite guidance, bearing similarities to the U.S. small diameter bomb SDB. The wreckage of this bomb was first discovered on the Ukrainian battlefield in February this year.
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