• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

FAB-3000

Russia has launched mass production of three-ton high-explosive aerial bombs FAB-3000. Their production in a new volume was launched in February 2024. This was reported by the Russian Ministry of Defense. These are high-explosive bombs, but they are adjustable, planned and can fly tens of kilometers, which, in principle, makes them invulnerable. The Russian Air Force employed the unguided FAB-3000 bomb in Ukraine in September 2022. Tu-22M3 missile carriers and Su-34 bombers can become carriers for such heavy high-explosive shells.

Their use in Ukraine was first reported in September 2022, although it’s likely these were FAB-3000s left over from Soviet stocks, without the UMPK guidance kits, whose existence was first reported on in late 2023. Western observers expressed serious concerns about Russia’s deployment of guided, gliding FAB series bombs due to the Ukrainian military’s limited ability to combat them, with Ukrainian commanders telling UK media this week that the only effective way to combat them is using military jets to shoot down their carriers – a luxury Ukraine does not have.

The new versions of FAB-3000 will be equipped with universal planning and correction modules (UMPK). This will make it possible to deliver targeted strikes, and at the same time it will be possible to adjust the target points of the bombs. “That is, that the planning and correction module is ready for them and now the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will be crushed with special power and destructive force,” noted military expert Andrei Klintsevich.

If a universal planning and correction module is installed on a three-ton bomb, it can be dropped from a distance that will allow the carrier aircraft not to enter the enemy’s air defense zone The enemy's air defense cannot shoot them down. A bomb with a mass of 1.5 tons (FAB-1500) carries much more explosives than a rocket. The FAB-3000, taking into account the body and all its components, will have an order of magnitude more explosives.

The Russian FAB-3000 M46, a High-Explosive (HE), General-Purpose (GP), fin-stabilised, aircraft bomb with a charge-to-weight ratio of 50/50. FAB stands for Fugasnaya Avia Bomba meaning Aerial Demolition Bomb known as a General-Purpose (GP) bomb in the West. The designation letters are followed by numbers that refer to the bomb size category. The bomb design allows it to be carried under the wings or fuselage of small aircraft, or in bomb bays of larger bombers. Although due to its size, it may be considered a High-Capacity (HC) bomb, its design and construction are that of a large GP bomb.

FAB-3000 is a high-explosive aerial bomb, developed back in Soviet times, was put into service back in 1946 and was modernized many times. It is one of the most destructive aircraft weapons today. FAB-3000 is designed to destroy various types of structures, shelters (including concrete) and fortified industrial facilities. The bomb weighs about three tons, while the weight of the explosive is almost half - about 1,400 kilograms - it is thrown from a height of up to 16 kilometers, and the flight speed can reach 1,200 kilometers per hour.

The production of FAB-3000 bombs was carried out under the Soviet Union, and FAB-3000 high-explosive bombs were adopted after the Great Patriotic War along with ammunition of 100, 250, 500, 1500, 5000 and 9000 kilogram calibers. At that time, large-caliber superbombs were mainly intended for use against large naval ships, but the FAB-1500 was also allowed to be used against industrial facilities, dams and underground structures. There are known cases of the use of heavy high-explosive bombs during the Afghan war. Thus, the radius of lethal damage from the FAB-3000 shock wave did not exceed 40 meters. The enemy within a radius of up to 160 meters received concussions with bleeding from the nose and ears.

The last use occurred during the Afghan campaign. Then these powerful aerial bombs were discontinued. They were abandoned due to excess capacity. First of all, this bomb is needed to destroy rear fortifications, military-industrial and energy facilities, buried command posts, bridges, airfields, and port facilities. The Air Force began to “wipe off the warehouse dust” during the assault on Azovstal in Mariupol. FAB-3000s were used in Mariupol during the assault on Azovstal. The bombs literally penetrated several tens of meters of buried fortifications designed to withstand a nuclear weapon. Ukrainian fighters who surrendered later admitted that the power of these blows made many “go crazy and decided to come out of the dungeons with their hands raised.”

It is clear that such ammunition is not needed during assaults on company and platoon strongholds; FAB-250, 500 and 1500 aerial bombs are quite adequate there. The decision to resume production of FAB-3000 came after the storming of Avdiivka, which Ukrainian nationalists turned into a real fortress. In all likelihood, in a number of cases, even FAB-1500 aerial bombs were not enough to destroy enemy fortified areas.

FAB-3000 is a very effective weapon against new Ukrainian fortified areas, which they are trying to build in the rear after the loss of Avdiivka. The bomb itself carries 1200 kg of explosives, the radius of complete destruction of the FAB-3000 is about 50 meters. That is, there is nothing left in this radius. Everyone who is within a radius of up to 300 meters from the epicenter of the explosion is guaranteed to receive severe concussions. The standard carriers of the FAB-3000 are Tu-22M3 bombers, but it is very possible that they will also be used from Su-34 fighter-bombers.

The three-ton high-explosive aerial bomb FAB-3000, mass production of which has been established in Russia, has such destructive power that it can be used for assaults on especially fortified areas such as the Mariupol Azovstal, in addition, new technologies will turn it into practically a high-precision weapon, Russian military expert Alexey Leonkov told RIA Novosti.

“FAB-3000 were used during combat operations in the Special Military Operation zone during the assault on Azovstal. But they were taken from stocks made during the Soviet Union, and their production was not resumed. But a special military operation showed that this ammunition was especially necessary during an assault fortified areas," Leonkov said.

“Everyone knows the results of dropping FAB-1500 bombs. FAB-3000 will be even worse if they start using a new version after new production in a special military operation zone", he emphasized. The Azovstal metallurgical plant became the scene of intense hostilities in the spring of 2022. The militants of the nationalist Azov regiment, hiding on the territory of the plant, capitulated to the Russian military on May 20. In total, according to the Ministry of Defense, since May 16, more than 2.4 thousand troops from Azov and Ukrainian military personnel, who were blocked on the territory of the plant for about a month, laid down their arms and surrendered.

He clarified that the resumed production will be carried out using modern technologies that will allow these bombs to be used practically as precision weapons. The expert said that using them in combination with ballistic release computers will turn the FAB-3000 into “high-precision ammunition that will accurately fit into the target with minimal circular probabilistic deviation. Most likely, these bombs will be used with a universal planning and correction module. That is, they will be able to hit enemy targets at a depth of up to 100 kilometers. This will make it possible to clear the rear facilities of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and deprive the enemy of the opportunity to quickly transfer weapons and equipment.”

When a FAB-3000M explodes, completely destroyed structures remain in a circle with a diameter of about 35 meters. The carrier of the FAB-3000 and FAB-5000 is the Tu-22M3 long-range bomber. The plans of the Russian Aerospace Forces to use high-explosive bombs FAB-3000 and FAB-5000M became known in September 2022.

Air bombs are being produced at enterprises of the military-industrial complex in the Nizhny Novgorod region. Russian Defense Minister General of the Army Sergei Shoigu visited enterprises of the military-industrial complex (DIC) in the Nizhny Novgorod region to check the progress of the state defense order. During the visit on 21 March 2024, the head of the department was informed that the enterprise had organized mass production of high-explosive aerial bombs FAB-3000.

Military expert retired Colonel Anatoly Matviychuk commented on the start of mass production of the FAB-3000. He drew attention to the power of the Russian aerial bomb and the possible consequences of its use in the zone of a special military operation. In his opinion, the FAB-3000 could well be the end of the Ukrainian Armed Forces infantry. "If the FAB-500 bomb became a nightmare for the Ukrainian Armed Forces infantry, the FAB-1500 is called the devil, then the FAB-3000 will be the end of the Ukrainian Armed Forces infantry that comes to hand. There are no obstacles for her" Matviychuk said. The expert noted that a high-explosive three-ton aerial bomb can bypass any obstacles. Including FAB-3000 will be able to destroy concrete structures buried deep in the ground.