The command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near Soledar was annihilated entirely when a Russian Sukhoi Su-34 fighter-bomber dropped a FAB-1500 bomb with a unified gliding and correction module.
The bomb hit the headquarters of the separate tactical group Soledar near the village of Aleksandro-Kalinovo. About 50 Ukrainian military men were annihilated, about the same number were wounded.
According to Captain Vasily Dandykin, the FAB-1500 is three times more powerful and several times cheaper than the Kinzhal missile. The bomb gives an opportunity to the aircraft pilot to use the weapon without entering enemy's air defence zone. This minimises risks for both the crew and the aircraft. At the same time, the hit accuracy remains high, which means that this is a new powerful weapon, the expert believes.
Major General of Aviation, Hero of Russia Sergei Lipovoy noted that the FAB-1500 is capable of hitting underground objects of the Ukrainian military, such as command posts, ammo depots, fortifications, bunkers and infrastructure located underground.
A Su-34 fighter-bomber of Russian Aerospace Forces used the FAB-1500 bomb for the first time in September. The mission was completed successfully, Mash Telegram channel said with reference to a military pilot.
Engineers had to create new equipment for the ammo, which made it possible to enhance the bomb dropping range. The circular deflection range of the bomb amounts to five meters, whereas the affected area exceeds a territory of two square kilometres.
One Sukhoi Su-34 can carry two FAB-1500 bombs. Previously, Su-34 fighters could use FAB-500M62 bombs. Unlike the 1,5-tonne FAB-1500, these ammunition are three times lighter. The Ukrainian Armed Forces can not understand how Russian gliding bombs work, The Drive said in July.