Russian bomb falls on Belgorod region

4 January, 2024 A Russian OFAB-250 bomb with the UMPK kit, Belgorod, January 3, 2024 Russia discovered its own unexploded bomb in the Belgorod region. A photo of the munition was published on social media.

Russian tactical military aircraft once again "lost" its own bombs on the way to Ukraine during combat missions. This time, an unexploded OFAB-250 bomb with the UMPK (unified gliding and correction module - ed.) kit was discovered in the Belgorod region.

A Russian OFAB-250 bomb with the UMPK kit, Belgorod, January 3, 2024

The production marking "Operable 18.12.23" applied manually with a marker can be spotted on the control module, which may indicate the date of its production or quality control. However, according to the abnormal bomb release from the hardpoint, the bomb kit may have had a malfunction that led to the accident.

This is not the first case in the Russian aviation practice. The most famous is the case of several bombs falling directly on Belgorod, with one of them detonating. In addition, similar numerous cases were observed in other regions of Russia and in the occupied territories.

Aftermath of the aviation ammunition fall in Belgorod.

April 2023

One of the possible causes of such incidents was previously suspected to be the inability of the Russian Su-34 fighter-bombers` hardpoints to properly carry 500-kilogram bombs. However, in this case, this regards a much lighter 250-kilogram bomb. 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 release from the hardpoint under the aircraft fuselage, 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.

A Russian bomb with a UMPK kit under the wing of a Su-34 front-line bomber

Previously, during a massive Russian missile attack on Ukraine, one of the Russian missiles fired at Ukraine fell on a village in the Voronezh region.