The Su-34 bomber became the carrier of four FAB-500
Russian drones «Geran-2», and previously harassing the Ukrainian Armed Forces, after modernization received a more effective warhead. The enemy admits that the improved drones have become comparable to the Solntsepek flamethrower systems. The combat capabilities of Su-34 front-line bombers have also increased. Now one plane carries four half-ton FAB-500 glide bombs at once. Military expert Yuri Knutov, in a conversation with MK, told us on which sectors of the front and for what purposes the new Geraniums will be most effective and where they can be replaced by carriers of gliding bombs.
Russian defense industry continues to improve air defense weapons. Thus, the other day it became known that the Geranium-2 drones not only changed their color to be inconspicuous — they became black, but also became even more “explosive.”
According to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, after the drone strike, a fragment of the warhead hull was discovered. VSEushniki estimated its power at 40 kg in TNT equivalent. The marking shows that the charge is thermobaric, that is, the same as those used in Soncepek heavy flamethrower systems. One such charge can cover an entire stronghold. “Well, we state that progress cannot be stopped,” wrote one of the Russian military Telegram channels.
In turn, the information resource Fighterbomber reported that the front-line fighter-bomber Su-34 — the famous “duckling”, which received such a nickname because of its flattened nose, can now take not a pair of FAB-500 glide bombs, as before — but four. Such bombs are equipped with universal planning and correction modules (UMPC) and can fly 50-70 km in autonomous mode after being dropped.
Russian Aerospace Forces pilots, writes the channel administrator, are smoothly switching to twice the number of UMPC-500 used from the best Su-34 aircraft: “They will carry 4 at a time. Well, whatever they will be. They're already taking it.»
According to military expert, director of the Museum of Air Defense Forces Yuri Knutov, Russian gunsmiths do not stand still, and one should not be surprised that the Geranium-2 or Lancet drones have changed significantly.
— Ukrainian military note that our Geraniums have become much more efficient compared to what they were before,” he says. — Firstly, they are mostly black, the bodies are made of composite materials, and the drones themselves are now much less visible on radar. In addition, the dark color makes them difficult to detect at night. Therefore, in addition to the fact that locators do not see them, they are also difficult to detect visually.
— The warhead of the Geranium has become more powerful due to the fact that, apparently, the payload capacity of the drone has been increased. Now the payload is approximately 50 kilograms.
— Simply put, this is a vacuum ammunition. The explosive consists of two components, which in themselves are safe, but under certain conditions they are sprayed into the air in the form of an aerosol, mixed and then a volumetric detonating explosion occurs, which has serious destructive force.
If you really believe the Ukrainian information, then this modernization really seriously increases the capabilities of the Geraniums.
— As for the Geraniums, they are most effectively used at rear targets in the depths of Ukraine, which are not very well covered by air defense. The targets of strikes may be defense enterprises, military warehouses, warehouses for fuel and lubricants, energy facilities, as well as port facilities in Odessa and Nikolaev.
If we are talking about Avdeevka, then the situation there is a little different, they work with FABs — high-explosive aerial bombs with controlled planning and correction modules.
— For a fighter-bomber of this kind, the load is two tons — is normal. It can carry much more weapons — more than ten tons. The fact is that pilots are specially trained to use gliding bombs; special skills are needed there. And, naturally, thanks to this, pilots can hit targets with great accuracy, at a distance of up to 50 kilometers from the release point. But since these bombs are aimed using a GPS system, their accuracy is very high, and the aircraft does not enter the enemy’s air defense coverage area.
— In fact, this is a very powerful breakthrough that will allow us to solve many issues. First of all, in Avdeevka, as well as in the Kherson direction. There, along the bridgehead, our aviation is operating very powerfully, which does not allow the Ukrainian troops to expand the bridgehead on the left bank of the Dnieper.