Russia claims launch of 3-ton aerial glide bombs from Su-34 jets against Ukraine.

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Russia has started to use Su-34 jets to launch aerial glide bombs weighing 3,000 kilograms against Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed on July 14. The Russian Defense Ministry released footage that purported to show the aerial bomb, known as a FAB-3000, attached to a Su-34 fighter jet and dropped on a target in Ukrainian territory. The FAB-3000 has a combat power that "cannot be ignored," the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims at the time of publication. A video shared by a pro-Kremlin blogger on June 20 first appeared to show a FAB-3000 bomb striking Lyptsi in Kharkiv Oblast.   The blogger, who reportedly has ties to the Russian Air Force, claimed the footage records the first combat use of a FAB-3000 M-54 bomb with a universal planning and correction module (UMPK).

FAB bombs upgraded with UMPK have wings that flip out as the weapon is released by the aircraft and a satellite navigation system. Kharkiv Oblast police reported that Russian forces attacked the Kupiansk district on May 5 with a FAB-1500 air-dropped bomb, the first time a 1,500-kilogram bomb had been used since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. The strike killed an 88-year-old woman and injured a 34-year-old man.

Glide bombs help Russia gain land in Ukraine.

What makes them so effective? One critical factor in Russia's recent battlefield successes in Ukraine is its extensive use of glide bombs. Every week, hundreds of these large, deadly weapons rain down on Ukraine, creating 20-meter-wide craters and obliterating military positions and entire settlements.

Russia has heavily relie...