KAB / UMPK glide bombs
Guided glide bombs, released beyond short-range air defence
Bazalt's UMPK is a kit with deployable wings and satellite navigation (GLONASS) that turns ordinary FAB aircraft bombs into guided glide bombs. Russian Su-34s and Su-35s have been releasing them since 2023 tens of kilometres from the front, without entering the range of Ukrainian short-range air defence — in very large numbers. Kits exist for FAB-250 up to FAB-3000; the powered UMPB D-30SN reaches 20–30 km further. In addition there are the older laser- and TV-guided KAB bombs.
Learn more in the AirDefense Academy →Dimensionsfor imagery analysis
- KAB-500Kr
- 3.05 m × Ø 0.35 m; 520 kg (warhead 380 kg)
- KAB-1500L
- 4.28 m × Ø 0.82 m, fins 0.58 m; ≈ 1,500 kg
- UMPK
- Kit around the bomb; dimensions depend on the FAB — not found
- Dimension source
- US Army TRADOC Worldwide Equipment Guide (ODIN)
General
- Role
- Precision strike on the front line and rear areas from stand-off range
- Manufacturer
- NPO Bazalt (UMPK); Tactical Missiles Corporation (KAB)
- In service
- UMPK 2023; KAB since the 1970s/80s
- Variants
- UMPK on FAB-250, -500, -1500, -3000; UMPB D-30SN (powered); KAB-500L/Kr, KAB-1500L/Kr
Weapon
- Guidance
- UMPK: inertial + GLONASS; KAB: laser (L) or TV/correlation (Kr)
- Range
- UMPK ≈ 32–38 NM (60–70 km, depending on release altitude); UMPB up to ≈ 49 NM
- Carriers
- Su-34, Su-35, Su-30SM2; also the S-70 drone (UMPB, 2024)
Threat
- Significance
- Cheap, massed and beyond SHORAD range — the VKS's biggest fires weapon in Ukraine
- Countermeasure
- Engage the carriers with long-range SAMs; GNSS jamming; strike airfields
- Threat level
- High — for ground forces and infrastructure
News archive 26
Analysed reports from the RU Mil Tracker about this system, newest first. Archive since 2026-07-17.
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Ukrainian intelligence: Russia can probably add 10–15 Su-34s a year, but builds no new Tu-95s, Tu-22M3s or Su-24s
In a reply published by the Ukrainian news agency UNIAN on 23 October, Ukraine's military intelligence agency HUR said Russian aircraft plants still produce modern fighter-bombers and fighters, enough to partly cover losses. Older bombers are different: Russia has no serial production of new Tu-95s, Tu-22M3s or Su-24s and keeps them flying through repairs a…
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Ukraine confirms missile strike on Energiya plant in Yelets, sole Russian maker of glide-bomb guidance batteries and supplier for Iskander and Kinzhal
On the afternoon of 25 October, missiles struck the Energiya plant in Yelets, Lipetsk Oblast, about 250 km from the Ukrainian border. The Ukrainian OSINT community Exilenova+ said the strike most likely involved UK-supplied Storm Shadow cruise missiles. Lipetsk Governor Igor Artamonov confirmed a strike on Yelets's industrial zone and said one person was in…
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«Демонтаж логистики: кратно возросло число ударов ФАБами по целям в Запорожье» (Topwar: 'Dismantling logistics: the number of FAB strikes on targets in Zaporizhzhia has multiplied')
Topwar author Alexey Volodin claims that Russian aviation has sharply increased ('many times over') its strikes on Kyiv-held Zaporizhzhia city with FAB high-explosive bombs fitted with UMPK glide-and-correction kits. He gives no figures. According to the article, the glide-bomb strikes alternate with drone attacks, including jet-powered Gerans and 'Dan-T' d…
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«Логистика и энергетика: новые удары по целям в Харькове и на Западной Украине» (Topwar: 'Logistics and energy: new strikes on targets in Kharkiv and Western Ukraine')
Topwar (Voennoye Obozreniye) author Maxim Svetlyshev claims that Russian forces carried out an evening wave of strikes on 24 October across almost all Kyiv-controlled territory. The weapons named are Geran attack drones, 'Dan-T' drones and FAB bombs fitted with UMPK glide-and-correction kits. He says logistics and energy facilities were destroyed 'from Khar…
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«Системная работа» (Rybar: 'Systematic work' — Russia's methodical strike campaign against Ukraine's railways)
The milblogger channel Rybar calls Ukraine's railways the sector Russia is destroying most methodically, beyond data centres, warehouses and ports. According to the post, most strikes hit Kirovohrad, Odesa and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts: port infrastructure in Odesa, and metallurgy-linked facilities in Dnipropetrovsk and Kirovohrad, where plants were halted bot…
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Russia's jet-drone surge strains Ukraine's F-16 force: about 100 jets promised, fewer than 40 in service
Russia launched about 2,000 jet-powered attack drones at Ukraine in September, up from about 350 in June, according to Euromaidan Press (David Axe). Citing the Wall Street Journal's editorial board, the outlet says the F-16 is one of the few Ukrainian weapons fast enough to catch these drones. That makes the jets a key part of the response, on top of their…
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«Возможная остановка Вашингтоном закупок оружия для Украины в США на европейские деньги» (Fighterbomber: 'Possible halt by Washington of US arms purchases for Ukraine with European money')
This is the personal/editorial voice of the Russian pro-war Telegram channel Fighterbomber, not a position of the Russian MoD; milbloggers can contradict each other and the MoD, and the content has not been independently verified. The channel cites reports by The Economist (a possible US halt of European-funded PURL purchases would leave Kyiv unable to prot…
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Ukraine's Navy says it hit six Su-34M bombers at Borisoglebsk air base in Voronezh Oblast with Neptune missiles; Zelensky claims four destroyed
On the night of 14-15 October 2026 the Ukrainian Navy struck the Borisoglebsk military airfield in Russia's Voronezh Oblast, roughly 400 km from the front line, with its Neptune coastal missile system. According to the Navy, six Su-34M bombers were hit, aviation support equipment was destroyed, and secondary explosions and a fire were recorded; it said furt…
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Russia keeps striking Ukraine's energy grid with Shaheds, glide bombs and missiles as Trump announces an "energy ceasefire"
On 11 October, the day US President Donald Trump claimed Ukraine and Russia had agreed to an immediate energy ceasefire, Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure continued. In his evening address President Zelenskyy said Ukraine was ready to stop striking Russian energy facilities if Russia did the same, but that Shahed drones had been in Ukrainia…
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France to start training Ukrainian pilots on the Rafale in November
French Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin told lawmakers at a parliamentary hearing on the 2027 defence budget that France will begin training Ukrainian pilots on the Rafale in November: "From November, we will begin the first training of Ukrainian pilots on Rafale." President Zelensky had announced the training plan earlier in a Telegram post after a…
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UAC delivers second 2026 batch of Su-34 fighter-bombers; number of aircraft not disclosed
Rostec announced on 7 October that its subsidiary United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) has handed a new batch of Su-34 fighter-bombers (NATO: Fullback) to the Russian Ministry of Defence under the state defence order. According to Defence Blog, it is the second Su-34 batch delivered in 2026. Rostec says the aircraft completed the full cycle of ground and fligh…
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SBU drones hit Su-35 and Su-34 at Khanskaya air base in Adygea; satellite imagery shows destruction
Drones of the Security Service of Ukraine's (SBU) Alpha special operations unit struck the Khanskaya military airfield in Russia's Republic of Adygea overnight on 4 October 2026, the SBU said. According to the agency, a Su-35 multirole fighter and a Su-34 fighter-bomber were hit, as well as an ammunition depot on the airfield. The SBU put the distance from…
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«Мамонт» на трассе «Новороссия»: тяжёлые FPV ВСУ против нашей логистики (Two Majors: balloon-delivered heavy Ukrainian FPV drones with Starlink attack the R-280 'Novorossiya' highway)
This is based on two posts from the Russian pro-war Telegram channel Два майора (Two Majors), a milblogger, not an official Russian source. It represents a personal/editorial voice; milbloggers can contradict each other and the Russian Ministry of Defence, and the claims below have not been independently verified.
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«Су-35 та Су-34»: СБУ уразила два носії КАБів на військовому аеродромі в Адигеї
ArmyInform reports that during the night of 3–4 October the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) struck the Russian military airfield Khanskaya in the Republic of Adygea. According to the SBU statement, drones of the SBU's Special Operations Center "Alpha" hit an ammunition depot on the airfield and two combat aircraft: a Su-35 multirole fighter and a Su-34 fi…
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Ухудшение на Славянском направлении
The Russian milblogger channel Rybar writes that, following problems on the Lyman direction, the situation is also deteriorating on the Sloviansk direction. According to the post, Ukrainian forces have gained a foothold near Dibrova and Ozerne, which complicates the position of Russian units near Kryva Luka and Piskunivka. Ukrainian formations are said to b…
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Russia's Dan-T munition blurs line between UAVs, cruise missiles — Rostec claims S-71M, S-71K and Dan-T jet drones form a new drone-missile class
Russian state corporation Rostec, in comments to the Defence Ministry newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda (30 September) and to TASS, claims that three of its newest jet-powered strike drones — the S-71M, S-71K and Dan-T — form a new category between attack drones and cruise missiles. Rostec's reasoning: a classic cruise missile is already a fixed-wing UAV, but not e…
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Russian jet-powered drone hits Kyiv's Academy of Sciences; Kremlin says Ukraine must "pay a price" as strikes also hit Kharkiv, Dnipro and Kyiv Oblast
On 28 September 2026 Russia struck central Kyiv in daylight. A jet-powered drone hit the main building of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in the Shevchenkivskyi district and set it on fire. Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported one woman killed and four injured, three of them hospitalised; Euromaidan Press says people fled through windows. She was Nat…
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Ukraine hits two Russian missile-component plants in two nights: Almaz-Antey's Iskra in Ulyanovsk (Kh-59, Pantsir parts) and the Azov Optical-Mechanical Plant, which leaked files tie to at least seven missile programs including Kh-101 and Oreshnik
Ukrainian long-range drones struck JSC NPP 'Iskra Plant' in Ulyanovsk overnight on 24–25 September 2026, as part of a wider drone barrage on Russia. The plant belongs to the Almaz-Antey defence conglomerate and makes semiconductor devices, microwave components and electronics. According to Militarnyi and an identification by the independent Russian outlet A…
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Новинки ВКС: больше бомб и новинка навигации
The Russian milblogger channel Dva Majora relays statements by Kirill Fedorov, made during a broadcast the previous day, that the Su-34 frontline bomber can now carry up to seven glide bombs. Fedorov is quoted describing a step-by-step increase: the aircraft started with one bomb, then two, then four, flew with four 'for quite a long time', after which two…
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Засіб проти КАБів: ефективніше збивати не бомби, а літаки, які їх запускають
ArmyInform, the information agency of Ukraine's Ministry of Defence, reports comments by Colonel Artem Skuratovskyi, head of the air defence department of Ukraine's 7th Rapid Response Corps, made on Radio NV on 21 September 2026. He argued that the most effective answer to Russian guided glide bombs (KABs) is not to intercept the bombs but to shoot down the…
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Operation Vivaldi: Ukraine's 3rd Army Corps takes Nove, Ridkodub and Katerynivka after suppressing Russian drones; ISW sees 'tactical drone overmatch' as mine-packed BTR-60s reach Russian fortifications, corps claims 250+ prisoners
In the third 'season' of Operation Vivaldi, Ukraine's 3rd Army Corps says it liberated Nove, Ridkodub and Katerynivka in northern Donetsk Oblast near Lyman and regained control of Karpivka and Novomykhailivka, adding 51 sq km to the 176 sq km it says it has retaken since the offensive began. Corps commander Andrii Biletskyi calls Nove, a key Russian hub on…
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Russia's glide bomb strikes hit new monthly record in August 2026
According to figures from Ukraine's General Staff, compiled and circulated via the OSINT monitor Oko Gora, Russia dropped a record 8,766 glide bombs on Ukrainian positions and cities in August 2026 — the highest monthly total since the start of the full-scale invasion. That works out to an average of roughly 283 bombs a day.
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Ukraine unveils indigenous Shershen SAM with R-120K missile and Ai-Petri anti-glide-bomb EW system at MSPO 2026
At the MSPO 2026 defence exhibition in Kielce, Poland, Ukrainian company Radionix presented its modular "Shershen" (Hornet) air-defence system, built around the Perun command-and-control vehicle, the Athena surveillance/tracking radar (detection range roughly 85 km) and four Borei launchers per battery. A more detailed report from The War Zone (TWZ, 10 Sept…
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Russia hammers Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities with drones, missiles and glide bombs, 8-10 September 2026
Russia continued its intensive bombardment of Ukrainian cities through a second consecutive night, extending the heavy combined salvo of 8-9 September into the night of 9-10 September. On 8-9 September, Russian forces struck with Iskander-M ballistic missiles, S8000 "Banderol" missiles and roughly 196 Shahed-type attack drones (including jet-powered variant…
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Germany's Cobra 600 Jet Drone Completes First Flight, Armed With IRIS-T Missile, Creators Hope It Can Shoot Down russian Su-34 KAB Carriers
SINGLE SOURCE — Ukrainian publication (Defense Express), not independently corroborated. German defense contractor Diehl Defence, working with startup POLARIS Raumflugzeuge, has developed the Cobra 600, a reusable jet-powered interceptor drone with a takeoff mass of 600 kilograms. The first test flight took place in the second half of August 2026 over the B…
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'Birds of Magyar' shoot down rare Russian Forpost-R UAV with Chaklun-KM interceptor over Kursk region
According to Censor.NET, based on video footage released by commander Robert Brovdi ('Madyar') via Telegram on 27 July 2026, the 7th Topota Battalion of the 414th Separate Unmanned Systems Brigade ('Birds of Magyar') shot down a Russian Forpost-R reconnaissance-and-strike UAV over the Kursk region at an altitude of roughly 4,300 metres. The Forpost-R is one…