What's FAB-1500? Russian Bunker-Busting Glide Bomb Has 1,600ft Blast Radius

Russian forces have reportedly rolled out new, guided glide bombs in Ukraine, which could ramp up pressure on Ukrainian air defenses as the fighting moves into the bitterly cold winter months.

Moscow's forces are using upgraded "smart" glide bombs, including the FAB-1500, kitted out with laser and satellite guidance to increase the accuracy of strikes, the U.S.-based think tank the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said on Monday, citing a Russian military blogger.

The FAB-1500, the largest of the series of glide bombs, also including the FAB-250 and FAB-500, weighs in at 1,550 kilograms (3,417 pounds) and can inflict damage over a radius of up to 1,600 feet, the military blogger wrote in a post to Telegram.

It can destroy bunkers up to 20 meters (66 feet) underground and blast through three meters of reinforced concrete, according to the blogger. Describing the weapon's purported capabilities, they said Moscow's Su-34, Su-30 and Su-35 aircraft can launch the new glide bombs.

Newsweek has reached out to the Russian defense ministry for comment via email.

Ukraine sounded the alarm on Russian glide bombs earlier this year. Ukrainian air force spokesperson Yuriy Ignat described the FAB series of bombs as the "new threat" in April, adding: "We have to urgently respond to it."

The head of Ukraine's air force, Mykola Oleshchuk, said in early April that Russia was increasingly using the smaller FAB-500 across "the entire front line," and that there were "signs of preparation for the mass use of 1,500 kg KABs."

But the FAB-1500 is different from the UPAB-1500 glide bomb with built-in wings that Russia has already long used, Forbes reported in early September. The FAB-1500's bolt-on wings and a guidance kit and are suited for mass deployment, the outlet reported, citing another influential Russian military blogger.

Ukraine has also received guided bombs in aid packages from the U.S., including the JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munitions), and the longer-range JDAM-ER. JDAM kits create precision-guided "smart" munitions from unguided bombs, launched from a variety of aircraft, much like the FAB series of bombs.

In March, General James Hecker, the U.S. Air Force's top commander in Europe and Africa, confirmed that Ukraine's forces were using a limited number of JDAM-ER "smart bombs." They had been unveiled in a military aid package in December 2022.

This comes as Ukraine braces for the bleak winter months and an expected surge in Russian strikes on the country's critical infrastructure. The new, huge glided bombs would add to Moscow's cache of weapons and pressurize Ukraine's air defense systems, and they have fueled Kyiv's calls for Western-made fighter jets since early this year.

Russia is likely to hammer Ukraine's energy infrastructure "as soon as the winter really starts to bite," according to Frederik Mertens, a strategic analyst with the Hague Centre for Strategic Studies.

"These last months Russia has been using its missiles sparingly and should again have accumulated a decent stock of them," he previously told Newsweek. "Its most logical target would be Kyiv's energy infrastructure and the most logical moment when it is needed the most," he added.

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