Did you know Moscow has been upgrading one of its most powerful Soviet-era bombs?

News headlines in the last few months have been filled with stories about Moscow using old bombs that it has upgraded with guidance kits to attack Ukraine. But did you know Russia hasn't just been turning smaller bombs into precision weapons? A very powerful Soviet-era bomb is allegedly also being upgraded as well.

Former Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visited a munitions factory in Nizhny Novgorod and inspected the fulfillment of a state weapons order according to media reports. However, it didn’t take long for analysts to spot one concerning problem in the images that came out of Shoigu's visit. 

Shoigu visited Arsenal 53’s production facility in Yuganets village in March 2024 and soon media reports were being released about a bomb that was spotted at the factory: the FAB-3000. But why was this worrying? 

The FAB-3000 bomb is not a new weapon. It was developed by the Soviet Union shortly after the Second World War as a high-explosive bomb that could be fitted to its Tupolev Tu-4, and later Tu-16, and Tu-22, bombers according to Miltaryni. 

Photo Credit: Russian Ministry of Defense via Twitter @Ghost132607472

Weighing in at more than three tons and measuring more than three meters or close to ten feet long, the FAB-3000 has an explosive weight of about one and a half tons and it can prove to be devastating for anyone on its receiving end. 

Photo Credit: Russian Ministry of Defense via Twitter @Ghost132607472

However, the original FAB-3000 has one big problem when it comes to modern warfare: Russian pilots would need to get very close to their targets if they wanted to drop such a bomb on enemy defenses or entrenched frontline fortifications. 

Using the FAB-3000 would leave pilots vulnerable to enemy air defense and that’s why the bomb really hadn't been used in Ukraine. However, Russia found a solution to their problem and began upgrading the Svoeit-era bombs to be used for use in Ukraine according to some accounts. 

Moscow is turning its free-falling FAB-3000 bombs into precision glide bombs using a conversion kit consisting of wings with flight controls and a guidance system, turning the bombs into a powerful weapon that can be launched from a distance. This was something Russia revealed it was planning to do in February 2024 according to Militaryni. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Mil.ru, CC BY 4.0

Defense News reported Russia has already turned its stock of smaller bombs such as the FAB-500 and FAB-1500 into autonomous glide bombs that can be launched from a fighter bomber at a range of 70 km or roughly 43 miles from its target. 

Smaller Russian glide bombs have been devastating Ukrainian positions on and behind the frontline according to The Independent. One source said they were hitting retreating soldiers and knocking out command posts and rear supplies of ammo. 

“These weapons have an enormous destructive effect,” the retired Russian colonel and military analyst Viktor Litovkin explained to the Russian news outlet Sputnik. “They can strike at strong points, at underground, concrete-reinforced command points. 

Photo Credit: Russian Ministry of Defense via Twitter @Ghost132607472

“They can penetrate their targets, exploding and destroying everything, including underground warehouses, underneath concrete-reinforced roofs, and so on. Of course, they can also hit enemy personnel and military equipment,” Litovkin added. 

How the upgraded FAB-3000 M54 version of the bomb will affect the Ukrainians is not yet known because the UMPK kits that turn the weapon into a precision-guided bomb have not yet been seen according to Defense News. 

Photo Credit: Russian Ministry of Defense via Twitter @Ghost132607472

However, other analysts like David Axe of Forbes have argued that such a large bomb wouldn’t be a good option for Russia over its other less impractical glide bombs like its upgraded FAB-500, FAB 1000, and FAB-1500 versions. 

Axe explained that the FAB-3000 would be “unwieldy and likely lacking in range.” But onlookers and war analysts won’t know if that assessment is correct until they start to use the new massive glide bombs in action against Ukrainian defenses. 

Another issue pointed out by Axe and several other reports is that the FAB-3000 isn’t likely to fit under a Su-34 fighter bomber, which may mean that Moscow would need to load the bomb onto Tu-22M to use it against Ukraine. But that has risks. 

“Considering the likely poor glide performance of a 3.3-ton bomb, the bombers might have to fly within a few miles of the front line, likely exposing them to much greater danger than Russian commanders are comfortable with,” Axe also noted. 

Regardless of whether or not the new FAB-3000 M54 is a useful tool for Russia, it is still a sign that Moscow is adapting to the challenges of modern warfare and that is a major problem for Ukraine as it struggles to hold on against the invasion.