Russia should deep using 3 tons or 5 tons aerial bombs – Sladkov
MOSCOW, RUSSIA — According to Russian correspondent in eastern Ukraine Alexander Sladkov, Russia is planning to use 3 ton and 5 ton aerial bombs. He believes that it is possible that they will be used deep in the rear of Ukraine. In this way, says Sladkov, the counteroffensive planned for the spring-summer will be thwarted.
- Su-34 and Su-35 drop 1,500 kg gliding bombs stunning Ukraine
- 24/7 BulgarianMilitary.com – all you need to know about Ukrainian – Russian war
- Worries in Japan! The Kremlin sent two ‘Bear’ bombers near Tokyo
Since the beginning of the year, Russian combat aviation has been using aerial bombs. However, it is not massive, but episodic. Sladkov claims that daily Russia uses 5-7 Russian planes that drop a small number of bombs. According to him, Moscow can increase this number at the moment of the Ukrainian counteroffensive. Sladkov suggests that Moscow can afford to commit 30-40 aircraft in this period of the war. One part of them will most likely be the Russian Su-34 fighter-bombers.
However, Sladkov sees a weakness in a strategy of deep attack in the rear. According to him, if the Russian command decides to attack the deep rear of the Ukrainian army, it will not lead to success. According to him, such aerial bombs will not reach their target.
At the moment, the Russian combat aviation episodically uses kilo-bombs with a range of about 40 km. In reality, this weapon has begun to usurp the function of mini-drones and heavy drones with large heavy payloads. They just happen to be much easier to use, more effective, and almost impossible to counter. According to the latest data, one kilo-bomb carries a payload of one and a half tons.
50 km away
A Russian former colonel from the General Staff of the Army, Mikhail Khodarenko, says that Ukrainian air defense currently cannot deal with aerial bombs. In the future, according to Khodarenko, the bombs will be dropped from a height of 12-15 km and will pursue targets up to 50 km away. Khodarenko says it is highly doubtful that any air defense system would repel such an attack. Asked if the delivered Patriot air defense system could repel an aerial bomb attack, Khodarenko did not answer.
He simply said that, in his opinion, the Ukrainians would not deploy the Peytrot on the front line. The Russian military noted that at some point the Russian Air Force may use a Kh-31 missile to try to destroy the Patriot.
UPAB-1500B
At the beginning of April the spokesman of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Mr. Yuriy Ignat in one of his interviews also confirmed that Ukraine cannot counter the Russian aerial bombs. He made this statement at a time when it became clear that the Russian aviation was using an aerial gliding bomb weighing a ton and a half [1,500 kg; 1.5 tons]. This is most likely the UPAB-1500B biro bomb.
The UPAB-1500B is a GLONASS-guided bomb. It was officially accepted into service in 2019 as part of the Russian Aerospace Forces [VKS]. The bomb can be dropped from Su-24M, Su-34, Su-35, and Mig-35 aircraft. The UPAB-1500B is in service only in Russia. Of the total weight of the bomb, 1,000 kg weighs only the warhead. Its range is 50 km.
No countermeasures
Mr. Ignat stressed that, according to him, Moscow can afford to use this bomb indefinitely. Such a statement implies three possibilities: Russia has a large number of manufactured bombs, and the production of such bombs continues at full speed or both. BulgarianMilitary.com recalls that the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, Mr. Sergey Shoigu, visited such a factory – for the production of ammunition and bombs. From the footage, it became clear that the plant was operating despite the economic sanctions imposed by the US and its allies, implying the restriction of imports of some components.
Mr. Ignat recalled that Ukraine cannot currently counter these Russian bombs, but could counter if allies provide more Patriot and SAMP\T air defense systems, as well as American F-16 fighter jets. The F-16 is needed to use its beyond-visual-range strike capabilities. This will help the Ukrainian Air Force to take out the Russian fighters at long distances, which will greatly reduce the release of this type of bomb.
***
Follow us everywhere and at any time. BulgarianMilitary.com has responsive design and you can open the page from any computer, mobile devices or web browsers. For more up-to-date news, follow our Google News, YouTube, Reddit, LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook pages. Our standards: Manifesto & ethical principles.