On March 9, 2025, a video surfaced online depicting a Russian airstrike utilizing a FAB-3000 UMPK guided bomb to strike a road bridge in Knyazhyi-2, a Ukrainian-controlled settlement in Russia’s Kursk region. The footage, widely circulated on social media platforms such as X, showcases the moment of impact, with the bridge sustaining significant damage.
Russia admits using FAB-3000 super bomb in recent Ukraine strikes
Video screenshot
While the exact date of the attack remains unclear, the release of the video highlights ongoing Russian efforts to disrupt Ukrainian supply lines along the Kursk front, a critical theater in the conflict where Russian ground forces have been steadily advancing. The strike underscores Moscow’s strategy of targeting infrastructure to hinder Ukrainian logistics as the war continues into its third year.
Recent reports indicate that Russian forces have made measurable progress in reclaiming territory in the Kursk region, an area where Ukrainian troops launched a surprise incursion in August 2024. According to data compiled by independent analysts and corroborated by posts on X, Russia has regained approximately 400 square kilometers of land in Kursk Oblast since late 2024, reversing some of Ukraine’s earlier gains.
Russian airstrike with FAB-3000 UMPK guided bomb strikes a road bridge in Ukraine-controlled settlement of Knyazhiy-2, Kursk Oblast of Russia.
The Russians continue to target Ukrainian supply lines on the Kursk front as their advance on the ground. pic.twitter.com/y7fStgsbhQ
— Status-6 (Military & Conflict News) (BlueSky too) (@Archer83Able) March 9, 2025
The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, noted in its March 2025 updates that Russian advances have been incremental but consistent, with troops leveraging air superiority and artillery to push back Ukrainian positions.
Settlements like Sudzha, located south of Knyazhyi-2, have been focal points of contention, with Russian forces aiming to secure key logistical hubs. This ground offensive aligns with the airstrike on Knyazhyi-2, suggesting a coordinated effort to isolate Ukrainian units by severing their supply routes.
The use of the FAB-3000 UMPK in this attack marks a rare deployment of one of Russia’s most powerful conventional weapons. The FAB-3000, originally a Soviet-era free-fall bomb, weighs over 3,000 kilograms, or roughly 6,600 pounds, and has been retrofitted with the Universal Gliding and Correction Module (UMPK) to transform it into a precision-guided munition.
This upgrade, developed by Russia’s Tactical Missiles Corporation, includes foldable wings and a guidance system that integrates inertial navigation with satellite-based GLONASS technology, allowing the bomb to glide up to 60 kilometers from its release point. The warhead itself carries approximately 1,400 kilograms of high explosives, equivalent to nearly 1.5 tons of TNT, making it capable of inflicting catastrophic damage.
According to a July 2024 report by Army Recognition, a defense news outlet, the FAB-3000’s blast radius can extend over 900 meters, with fragmentation effects reaching up to 1,000 meters or about 0.6 miles. The shockwave alone can cause severe structural damage hundreds of meters from the detonation site, rendering it a formidable tool against fortified positions or infrastructure like bridges.
Experts have noted that while the FAB-3000 UMPK offers significant destructive potential, its accuracy has been a point of contention. A 2024 analysis by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Long War Journal cited Russian claims of a circular error probable [CEP] of 10 meters, meaning half of the bombs should land within that distance of their target.
However, video evidence from previous strikes, including those shared on Telegram channels, suggests a CEP closer to 30 meters, indicating less precision than advertised. This margin of error, while still effective against large targets like bridges or buildings, limits its utility for pinpoint strikes.
The weapon’s size and power also come at the cost of range, with sources like TASS, Russia’s state news agency, reporting in July 2024 that the FAB-3000’s glide distance is shorter than that of its smaller counterparts, such as the FAB-500, which can reach 70 kilometers. Despite these trade-offs, the bomb’s deployment in Knyazhyi-2 demonstrates Russia’s willingness to escalate its firepower to achieve tactical objectives.
The FAB-3000 UMPK has been documented in only a handful of instances throughout the war in Ukraine, reflecting its status as a specialized rather than routine weapon in Russia’s arsenal. One of the earliest confirmed uses occurred on June 20, 2024, when Russian Telegram channels released footage of a strike on a hospital in Lyptsi, a village in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region.
Defense Express, a Ukrainian military analysis outlet, reported that the bomb missed its intended target by about 15 meters but still caused extensive damage due to its explosive yield. Another notable deployment took place in September 2024, when a FAB-3000 UMPK struck Vovchansk, also in Kharkiv Oblast, targeting Ukrainian defensive positions, as documented in a Reddit thread on the CombatFootage community.
The Russian Ministry of Defense later showcased the weapon in a July 14, 2024, video, highlighting its use against a Ukrainian temporary deployment point in northern Kharkiv. These instances, while sporadic, illustrate the bomb’s role in attacking high-value or hardened targets, a pattern consistent with the Knyazhyi-2 strike.
The rarity of the FAB-3000’s use can be attributed to both its logistical demands and the strategic calculus behind its deployment. Unlike the more commonly used FAB-500 and FAB-1500 bombs, which Russia employs in large numbers—up to 3,500 glide bombs per month, according to a July 2024 estimate by the Long War Journal—the FAB-3000 requires specific aircraft and conditions for effective delivery.
Production of the FAB-3000 resumed in early 2024 at the Sverdlov Plant in Dzerzhinsk, as announced by then-Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu during a March visit, signaling Moscow’s intent to bolster its heavy munitions stockpile. However, its limited range and the need to protect launch platforms from Ukrainian air defenses, such as the U.S.-supplied Patriot systems, restrict its frequent use.
Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Illia Yevlash commented on June 21, 2024, during a national telethon, that the FAB-3000’s deployment would be “one of the first times” such a powerful bomb was used, pending confirmation from wreckage analysis, underscoring its exceptional nature.
The aircraft capable of carrying the FAB-3000 UMPK is limited to a select few within Russia’s air force, primarily due to the bomb’s size and weight. The Sukhoi Su-34, a twin-engine fighter-bomber, has emerged as the primary delivery platform for this munition, as evidenced by footage from the Knyazhyi-2 strike and earlier Russian Ministry of Defense videos.
The Su-34, with a maximum payload of 17,637 pounds across 12 hardpoints, can accommodate the FAB-3000 on its centerline station, though it typically carries only one due to the bomb’s mass. BulgarianMilitary.com reported on March 3, 2025, that the Su-34’s reinforced cockpit and Khibiny electronic countermeasures enhance its survivability in contested airspace, making it suitable for such missions.
Historically, the Tupolev Tu-22M3, a supersonic strategic bomber, was the standard carrier for unguided FAB-3000s, notably during the 2022 siege of Mariupol’s Azovstal plant, as noted by Wavell Room in a September 2024 analysis. However, the Tu-22M3’s vulnerability to modern air defenses and its dwindling numbers—fewer than 60 remain operational, per Defense Express—have shifted reliance to the more agile Su-34. Other aircraft, like the Su-24 or Su-25, lack the payload capacity or structural clearance to handle the FAB-3000, limiting Russia’s options.
The choice of the Su-34 over the Tu-22M3 reflects a tactical adaptation to the evolving battlefield. The Su-34’s ability to release the bomb from 40 to 50 kilometers behind the front line, as observed in past strikes, keeps it beyond the reach of most Ukrainian medium-range air defenses, such as the Buk-M1, which has a range of about 40 kilometers.
This standoff capability is critical in Kursk, where Ukrainian forces have deployed mobile air defense units to counter Russian air operations. The Tu-22M3, while capable of carrying multiple FAB-3000s, would need to fly closer to the target or risk detection by long-range systems like the Patriot, a scenario Moscow appears keen to avoid given the bomber’s strategic value and the losses inflicted by Ukrainian drone attacks on airfields, as reported by Wavell Room.
The airstrike on Knyazhyi-2, coupled with Russia’s ground gains in Kursk, points to a sustained campaign to disrupt Ukrainian operations in the region. The FAB-3000 UMPK’s deployment, though infrequent, amplifies the destructive potential of these efforts, targeting infrastructure vital to Kyiv’s ability to hold contested territory.
As of March 9, 2025, the full extent of the damage to the Knyazhyi-2 bridge remains unverified, with no official statements from Russian or Ukrainian authorities confirming the strike’s outcome. Nonetheless, the video’s release serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing escalation in weaponry and tactics, with both sides adapting to the protracted nature of the conflict.
Whether the FAB-3000 will see wider use or remain a niche weapon hinges on Russia’s production capacity and the evolving dynamics of the Kursk front, where control of supply lines continues to shape the war’s trajectory.
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