Reference card

FAB glide bomb

Soviet-designed high-explosive bombs fitted with a Russian wing-and-guidance kit, most often discussed as a FAB-500 with a UMPK kit. The bare letters FAB are not matched, because they occur in unrelated words.

These cards are encyclopedic. They are not targeting, manufacturing, or acquisition guidance. A field says unknown/disputed when the cited open source does not state it. ARC Warning is not an emergency service.

Catalog revised 2026-10-11. Also known as UMPK, FAB-500.

Published description

Names, aliases, and NATO designation: FAB-500 with the UMPK (unified gliding and correction module). No NATO reporting name is given by IISS or FDD on the pages used here.; Confidence: high. The cited page states this.; IISS and FDD use those names. Heavier FAB bodies are a related family, not a second card.; IISS Military Balance blog: Russian glide bombs add pressure on Ukraine’s diminishing air defences Foundation for Defense of Democracies: What we know about Russia’s new 3-ton glide bomb
Type and role: An unguided bomb fitted with a glide and guidance kit, used as a stand-off aircraft weapon.; Confidence: high. The cited page states this.; IISS describes the kit as a way to release bombs from farther away than a free-fall drop.; IISS Military Balance blog: Russian glide bombs add pressure on Ukraine’s diminishing air defences
Manufacturer and country: Russia. IISS attributes UMPK production to JSC Tactical Missiles Corporation. The bomb bodies are older Soviet designs.; Confidence: high. The cited page states this.; The kit maker and the bomb’s origin are separated on purpose.; IISS Military Balance blog: Russian glide bombs add pressure on Ukraine’s diminishing air defences Foundation for Defense of Democracies: What we know about Russia’s new 3-ton glide bomb
Operators: Russia.; Confidence: high. The cited page states this.; IISS and FDD describe Russian use.; IISS Military Balance blog: Russian glide bombs add pressure on Ukraine’s diminishing air defences Foundation for Defense of Democracies: What we know about Russia’s new 3-ton glide bomb
Launch platform: Aircraft. IISS says the combination was first seen on the Su-34, often carrying FAB-500 bombs with the kit.; Confidence: high. The cited page states this.; Aircraft type only. Release conditions are not a procedure and are not spelled out.; IISS Military Balance blog: Russian glide bombs add pressure on Ukraine’s diminishing air defences
Guidance: IISS: satellite navigation and an inertial measurement unit.; Confidence: high. The cited page states this.; That is the published kit description.; IISS Military Balance blog: Russian glide bombs add pressure on Ukraine’s diminishing air defences
Propulsion: The baseline kit is an unpowered glide addition. Reports of powered versions are not treated as the baseline.; Confidence: medium. The cited page supports this, with a stated limit.; IISS describes wings and a guidance kit, not an engine, for the UMPK it is discussing.; IISS Military Balance blog: Russian glide bombs add pressure on Ukraine’s diminishing air defences
Published speed: unknown/disputed; Confidence: unknown. The cited page does not state this, so the card does not guess.; Neither IISS nor FDD states a single speed on the pages used here.; IISS Military Balance blog: Russian glide bombs add pressure on Ukraine’s diminishing air defences Foundation for Defense of Democracies: What we know about Russia’s new 3-ton glide bomb
Range: IISS: about 40 km when released from medium altitude. Other published claims for a FAB-500 with UMPK run about 60–70 km.; Confidence: disputed. Open sources disagree, or the figure is a relayed claim.; FDD relays the higher band from Ukrainian and Russian sources. The card keeps both and does not pick one.; IISS Military Balance blog: Russian glide bombs add pressure on Ukraine’s diminishing air defences Foundation for Defense of Democracies: What we know about Russia’s new 3-ton glide bomb
Warhead type and weight: The FAB-500 is a 500 kg-class high-explosive bomb. FDD says the UMPK was first used on the FAB-500 M-62 and later on other weights. Explosive fill is not given as a single figure.; Confidence: medium. The cited page supports this, with a stated limit.; Class and the M-62 association are published. A fill weight would be a guess.; IISS Military Balance blog: Russian glide bombs add pressure on Ukraine’s diminishing air defences Foundation for Defense of Democracies: What we know about Russia’s new 3-ton glide bomb
Blast and fragmentation radius: unknown/disputed; Confidence: unknown. The cited page does not state this, so the card does not guess.; The sources cited here give a warhead class or mass where they give one. They do not state a blast or fragmentation radius, and none is inferred.; IISS Military Balance blog: Russian glide bombs add pressure on Ukraine’s diminishing air defences Foundation for Defense of Democracies: What we know about Russia’s new 3-ton glide bomb
Interceptability and countermeasures: unknown/disputed; Confidence: unknown. The cited page does not state this, so the card does not guess.; IISS describes the pressure these bombs place on air defense because the launching aircraft can stay farther out. It does not publish a way to stop the bomb, and this card does not add one.; IISS Military Balance blog: Russian glide bombs add pressure on Ukraine’s diminishing air defences
Reported unit cost: Disputed. A 2023 Kyiv Independent article relayed a Russian-source claim of about 2 million roubles for a UMPK kit.; Confidence: disputed. Open sources disagree, or the figure is a relayed claim.; The figure is not an audited price. The bomb body and the kit are different objects.; Kyiv Independent: Russia’s new guided bombs pose increasingly serious threat to Ukraine
Service history: IISS and FDD describe Russian use of the UMPK from early 2023.; Confidence: high. The cited page states this.; That is the published introduction window.; IISS Military Balance blog: Russian glide bombs add pressure on Ukraine’s diminishing air defences Foundation for Defense of Democracies: What we know about Russia’s new 3-ton glide bomb

Media

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Seen in ARC Warning

No approved ARC Warning record currently names this system.

Sources

IISS Military Balance blog: Russian glide bombs add pressure on Ukraine’s diminishing air defences · Primary
Foundation for Defense of Democracies: What we know about Russia’s new 3-ton glide bomb · Primary
Kyiv Independent: Russia’s new guided bombs pose increasingly serious threat to Ukraine · Primary
Wikipedia: UMPK · Secondary pointer

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