Russians showed the production of UMPK kits

27 September, 2023 A delegation led by the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Sergei Shoigu at the production of UMPK kits in the Moscow region, September 2023 Russian media published footage from the plant which produces UMPK (unified gliding and correction module - ed.) bomb kits. Russian propaganda media published the video from the enterprise.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and his delegation arrived at the site of the Russian Tactical Missiles Corporation in the Moscow region. The video captured the representative of the enterprise (presumably, NPO Mashinostroyeniya) telling the minister that the design of the UMPK kit was constantly updated and modernized.

The video partially features the manual assembly process of the control unit. Also, in the background behind the commission at 15:00 seconds, racks with dozens of horizontal fin sets and cases for assembling UMPK kits can be seen. He noted that for the first samples of the module, the case and some of the spare parts were machined from a single piece of metal on a milling machine, but now they have moved to a more technologically and economically advanced method of bending the aluminum sheet.

UMPK kit installed on the FAB-500 bomb under the Su-34's wing, January 2023

UMPK

UMPK (unified gliding and correction module) is a hinged kit designed for use alongside unguided bombs, for example, FAB-250 and FAB-500.

The kit converts a conventional free-falling bomb into a stand-off munition, also increasing its range to tens of kilometers. After the standard approach from the hardpoint under the fuselage of the aircraft, the kit mounted on the bomb opens its wings and guides the bomb to predefined coordinates using an installed inertial system with GPS satellite signal correction.

Damaged UMPK kit with an unexploded FAB-500 bomb. Photo from open sources

The maximum range claimed by the Russians with modified FAB-500 bombs is between 50 and 60 kilometers.

The range with FAB-250 bombs is, probably more. An unexpected problem with the FAB-500M-62 bombs modified in Russia by the installing UMPK kit was their poor compatibility with the main front-line bomber of the Russian Aerospace Forces, the Su-34M. As it has become known, the hardpoints of these aircraft are physically unable to reliably withstand the weight and load from the use of these bombs, which leads to unauthorized FAB-500 launches during flight.

Bombs coming off the hardpoints has long been a systemic problem.

Cases of bombs falling off were recorded in Donetsk and Belgorod.

The latter was accompanied by the fall of 500-kilogram bombs directly on residential areas of the city.