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Which types of Russian glide bombs can reach Ukrainian cities and why

global.espreso.tv
Tue, 14 Oct 2025 18:46:00 +0300
Which types of Russian glide bombs can reach Ukrainian cities and why
More about this — in an analytical piece by military expert Oleksandr Kovalenko for OBOZ.UA.When we talk about KABs, we often mean guided aerial bombs of the classic Soviet family OFAB-250/500/1500/3000 and their variants — such as ODAB, RBK, BETAB, etc.These aerial bombs, initially free-fall types, acquire glide-and-guided properties after installation of UMPK (universal planning and correction modules).The flight range of such bombs depends on a range of factors, from the weight of the munition itself to the release altitude. Therefore, classic aerial bombs often cannot reach cities like Dnipro without the release aircraft — frontline bombers — entering airspace that is controlled by Ukrainian air defense, which carries a high risk of the combat aircraft being shot down.But, as it turned out a little later, the strike on Dnipro was delivered by a Grom-E1. For many that name was a revelation, although during the full-scale invasion Russian occupation forces have used these munitions more than once.Grom-1 and DniproIt is noteworthy that the rocket-bomb complex “Grom-1” had previously attacked Dnipro — on June 28. But that was a specific modification of Grom-1.First, a small clarification. Grom-1 is not a classical KAB in the full sense, but rather a rocket-bomb complex, which can be either a rocket or a gliding bomb.In the rocket version of this weapon the warhead mass is 315 kg and the flight range reaches, under certain conditions, 120 km. The bomb modification, however, has a warhead of 480 kg but a flight range of 65 km. This difference is due to the fact that the rocket has a propulsion engine while the bomb does not.Thus, what flew toward Dnipro was more likely a rocket with bomb-like characteristics rather than a bomb with rocket-like characteristics. And for that very reason it was possible to shoot it down — it had a rocket motor, which was the target for the air-defense surface-to-air missile work.It is worth clarifying that Grom-1 is a complex created on the basis of the Kh-38 air-launched missile, which was adopted in 2012, and the complex itself was presented in 2015. The idea was to create a modular strike weapon, and overall they achieved what they intended — a universal strike complex.These missiles have been used by the Russian occupation forces multiple times during the full-scale invasion; the first verification of their use dates to spring 2023.But aside from Grom-1, the Russian occupying forces have other gliding-type weapons capable of reaching Dnipro and beyond.UMPB D-30SNIn March 2024 the first recorded use over Ukrainian territory was verified of the so-called universal interservice gliding munition — the UMPB D-30SN.The UMPB D-30SN mounts a turbofan engine that allows the munition to increase its flight range. At the same time, that engine makes it vulnerable to air-defense means in medium and deep rear areas, although it increases effectiveness in the near zone.UMPB D-30SNThe range of such a weapon is initially estimated at 70–90 km. But in reality it is not so straightforward, because the range of any gliding munition depends on a number of factors and is not a fixed characteristic.For many Ukrainians it is very important to understand precisely which weapon of terror can reach their city. We will address that issue in the next section.Flight range of glide bombsThe guided aerial munitions UMPB D-30SN, like Grom-1 with a rocket booster, do not have a constant flight range. That parameter depends on a number of factors, primarily on release altitude.Let us consider releases of the UMPB D-30SN and Grom-1 from their main carrier — the Russian frontline bomber Su-34.The maximum practical ingress/release altitude for the Su-34, verified and confirmed in practice, is 15,000 meters. More commonly release occurs from altitudes up to 12 km. We take these data as a basis.Factors that also strongly influence the flight range of a gliding bomb, in addition to release altitude, are release speed and angle, mass and balance of the munition, meteorological conditions, the guidance-and-planning software and the flight profile (economy / maximum long-range gliding mode).According to an aerodynamic approximation (with margins) for a gliding munition (without an engine), to first approximation the flight range after release is determined by the aerodynamic quality (L/D) and the drop height H. With reasonable assumptions (settled gliding regime) you can use the approximation ≈ H × (L/D).Values of L/D for gliding aerial bombs range from 6 to 9, a range that already accounts for the horizontal component of the carrier’s speed and accompanying factors.Thus, at height H = 15,000 meters a gliding aerial bomb with an assumed L/D of 6 would have:15,000 × 6 = 90,000 meters.Depending on conditions, this can become 105, 120, or 135 km.Thus, depending on accompanying factors such as the exact aerodynamic quality of a particular UMPB modification, release speed and angle, wind conditions, planning control (flight profile) and mass/load of the body when released from 15 km, the flight range of a munition like the UMPB D-30SN can be from 90 to 135 km.Accordingly, the lower the release altitude, the smaller that parameter. That means that weapons like the UMPB D-30SN and Grom-1 can reach Dnipro under maximally favorable conditions for a Su-34 performing release from the highest possible altitude — which is not always feasible.There is also some consolation in that production of weapons such as the UMPB D-30SN and Grom-1 is not mass-scale like classic KABs, which are produced by the thousands. Per month, several dozen of these munitions are manufactured.ConclusionsA rare rocket-bomb complex, the Grom-E1, was used against Dnipro. Russia does not produce them in such quantities that these strikes would become regular and endless.Moreover, to squeeze the maximum flight range out of gliding munitions, conditions must be maximally favorable and supportive. All this makes striking the mid rear areas with such munitions a much more difficult, non-mass occurrence than fatalists assume.But that does not negate the fact that Russia is doing everything possible to increase the range of its strike weapons both for serial KABs based on the classic free-fall bomb family and for unique munitions. Work in this direction continues constantly, and improving the technical and tactical characteristics of such instruments of terror remains one of the enemy’s priorities.
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