UMPK (, Unified gliding and correction module) is a munition guidance kit first developed by the Russian
Bazalt Design Bureau for converting
unguided Soviet bombs into
precision-guided glide bomb
A glide bomb or stand-off bomb is a standoff weapon with flight control surfaces to give it a flatter, gliding flight path than that of a conventional bomb without such surfaces. This allows it to be released at a distance from the target rat ...
s. This kit is an aerial bomb glide range extension kit, similar to the American
Joint Direct Attack Munition
The Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) is a guidance kit that converts unguided bombs, or "dumb bombs", into all-weather precision-guided munitions (PGMs). JDAM-equipped bombs are guided by an integrated inertial guidance system coupled to a G ...
Extended Range (JDAM-ER) and thus it was sometime nicknamed "JDAMski" or "Russian JDAM". The guidance system and gliding function of the UMPK kit can provide ordinary aerial bombs with longer-range and more accurate strike capabilities. They have been widely used by the
Russian Air Force
The Russian Air Force () is a branch of the Russian Aerospace Forces, the latter being formed on 1 August 2015 with the merging of the Russian Air Force and the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the reb ...
during the
Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
.
History
A guided glide kit for Soviet/Russian bombs was first proposed by
NPO Bazalt
NPO Bazalt () is a weapons manufacturing company in Russia that took over (or continued) the production of weapons such as the RPG-7 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. NPO Bazalt manufactures the RPG-7V2 and the RPG-29. AO NPO Bazalt is ...
in 2003 as a cheap device that can be fitted to bombs to increase range and accuracy. Its prototype was first displayed at the "Aero India 2003" exhibition. The upgrade, back then called MPK, continued being proposed in 2008.

At the beginning of January 2023, Russian users on social networks shared a photo of the
FAB-500 M-62 with an attached kit resembling a JDAM. The "artisan" quality of the kit may have indicated it was a prototype.
At the end of March 2023, the spokesman of the
Ukrainian Air Force
The Ukrainian Air Force (, PS ZSU) is the air force of Ukraine and one of the eight Military branch, branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (ZSU). Its current form was created in 2004 by merging the Ukrainian Air Defence Forces into the Air Fo ...
,
Yuriy Ignat, reported that the Russian military began to use winged modified aerial bombs with a warhead weighing more often. Russian planes drop them from a distance of tens of kilometers on targets in the front-line zone without entering the Ukrainian air defense range.
In April 2023, an Su-34 accidentally dropped a bomb on the Russian city of
Belgorod
Belgorod (, ) is a city that serves as the administrative center of Belgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Seversky Donets River, approximately north of the border with Ukraine. It has a population of
It was founded in 1596 as a defensiv ...
. Some news outlets quoted Russian milblogger Fighterbomber that the bomb was an UMPK-upgraded one.
The UMPK was first publicly acknowledged by
Russian MoD in May 2023.
According to a November 2023 investigation by the British NGO
Conflict Armament Research
Conflict Armament Research (CAR) is a British-based investigative organization that tracks the supply of conventional weapons, ammunition, and related military materiel (such as IEDs) into conflict-affected areas. Established in 2011, CAR specia ...
, the new UMPK has, among other things, a more complex electronic system including SMART navigation controller and Kometa
satellite navigation
A satellite navigation or satnav system is a system that uses satellites to provide autonomous geopositioning. A satellite navigation system with global coverage is termed global navigation satellite system (GNSS). , four global systems are ope ...
module.
UMPB D-30SN
In March 2024, photos of the wreckage of a previously unseen Russian ordnance with the "UMPB" marking surfaced in Ukraine. Preliminary analysis of the wreckage told that UMPB is a type of air-launched weapon that has a FAB-250 bomb integrated into the guidance-and-glide kit, with inertial and satellite navigation systems, ailerons, and actuators at its aft end, with a jet engine and fuel tank inside the weapon as well. Russian
milblogger Fighterbomber identified this weapon as UMPB D-30SN (, Versatile intermediate gliding munition). According to the blogger, "intermediate" means its standing between different types of ordnance and the fact it can be launched from various platforms, such as
Tornado-S multiple launch rocket systems, as well as from aircraft. No other specifications were mentioned.
In May 2024, a high-quality image of the UMPB D-30SN long-range glide bomb has appeared for the first time. The picture showed a
Su-34
The Sukhoi Su-34 (; NATO reporting name: Fullback) is a Soviet-origin Russian twin-engine, twin-seat, all-weather supersonic medium-range fighter-bomber/ strike aircraft. It first flew in 1990, intended for the Soviet Air Forces, and it entere ...
releasing four UMBP bombs. The location of the release point allowed to estimate that the attack range of the UMPB could be up to , which is higher than the UMPK.
In October 2024, a piece of an UMPB was found in the wreckage of an
S-70 UAV which was shot down by Russians after losing control and entering the Ukrainian airspace, indicating that the UAV was used as a carrier for UMPB bombs.
Ukrainian program
In June 2024, the
Ukrainian Air Force
The Ukrainian Air Force (, PS ZSU) is the air force of Ukraine and one of the eight Military branch, branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (ZSU). Its current form was created in 2004 by merging the Ukrainian Air Defence Forces into the Air Fo ...
announced a similar program to create an analog of the UMPK bombs. Serhii Golubtsov, commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, told
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...
in an interview, that the wings, command module and GPS had to be worked out. In August, the Ukrainian Air Force released footage of a Su-24M testing a similar bomb. This weapon appears to have X shaped control fins and an outlet for a possible rocket booster or a jet engine.
Electronic countermeasures
In 2025, Ukrainian forces began successfully jamming Russian UMPK-equipped glide bombs, significantly reducing their accuracy. According to ''
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
'', jamming has forced Russia to use up to 16 bombs to hit a single target. These countermeasures disrupt satellite guidance, undermining one of Russia’s key battlefield advantages.
Description
The UMPK aerial bomb glide kit is designed to convert traditional unguided bombs into guided bombs to provide greater strike accuracy. The maximum attack range depends on the altitude and trajectory of the aircraft before being dropped.
The current manufacturer of the module is not officially named. Perhaps there are several companies producing them, as well as several variants of the module itself.
A unit costs 2 million rubles, according to the Fighterbomber
Telegram
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas pi ...
channel,
[ which is equivalent to 24,460 USD][ and is cheap for such a weapon.][ During its invasion of Ukraine, Russia is unlikely to run out of bombs to which it can be fitted, as it has a very large inventory of unguided ]aerial bombs
An aerial bomb is a type of explosive or incendiary weapon intended to travel through the air on a predictable trajectory. Engineers usually develop such bombs to be dropped from an aircraft.
The use of aerial bombs is termed aerial bombing.
...
. The heavy use of civilian-grade electronics allows kits to be mass produced cheaply but also makes them unreliable compared to Western equivalents resulting in bombs falling within Russia, although safeguard systems mean detonations are rare.
There are several variants of the kit:
* FAB-250
The FAB-250 is a Soviet-designed general purpose air-dropped bomb with a high-explosive warhead, primarily used by the Russian Air Force, former Soviet republics and customer countries. It is very widespread throughout the Third World and use ...
– used at least as early as May 2023.
* FAB-500
The FAB-500 is a Soviet-designed general purpose air-dropped bomb with a high-explosive warhead, primarily used by the Russian Aerospace Forces, former Soviet republics and customer countries. The original M-54 model was rolled out in 1954, ...
– the first bomb equipped with UMPK, and the most widely used.
* FAB-1500 – used at least as early as September 2023. The FAB-1500М54 guided bomb was displayed publicly when Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu
Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu; , . (born 21 May 1955) is a Russian politician and military officer who has served as secretary of the Security Council since 2024. He served as Minister of Defence of Russia from 2012 to 2024. Shoigu has served ...
visited the Tactical Missiles Corporation
JSC Tactical Missiles Corporation (KTRV) (, КТРВ) is a major Russian holding company for the manufacturers of military weapons (especially missiles), headquartered in Korolyov, Moscow Oblast.
History
Tactical Missiles Corporation was found ...
military-industrial complex in the Moscow region in January 2024.
* FAB-3000 – On 20 June 2024, Russian milblogger FighterBomber published the alleged first usage of a FAB-3000 with UMPK kit in the village of Liptsy, Kharkiv region. ''The Kyiv Independent
''The Kyiv Independent'' is an English-language Ukraine, Ukrainian online newspaper founded in November 2021, three months before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, by former staff of the ''Kyiv Post'' and media c ...
'' also reported on this claim, although they could not verify its veracity. More purported uses of the bomb in the same region took place in the next days with videos appeared online. The Russian Ministry of Defense officially announced the use of the bomb on 14 July 2024 by publishing a video which showed a Su-34
The Sukhoi Su-34 (; NATO reporting name: Fullback) is a Soviet-origin Russian twin-engine, twin-seat, all-weather supersonic medium-range fighter-bomber/ strike aircraft. It first flew in 1990, intended for the Soviet Air Forces, and it entere ...
tactical bomber launching it.
* ODAB-500 – footage in a video published by the Russian Defense Ministry on April 4, 2024, shows a Su-34
The Sukhoi Su-34 (; NATO reporting name: Fullback) is a Soviet-origin Russian twin-engine, twin-seat, all-weather supersonic medium-range fighter-bomber/ strike aircraft. It first flew in 1990, intended for the Soviet Air Forces, and it entere ...
frontline bomber launching four ODAB-500 thermobaric bomb
A thermobaric weapon, also called an aerosol bomb, or a vacuum bomb, is a type of explosive munition that works by dispersing an aerosol cloud of gas, liquid or powdered explosive. The fuel is usually a single compound, rather than a mixture o ...
s equipped with the UMPK guidance kit.
* ODAB-1500 – used at least as early as February 2024.
* RBK-500 – the cluster variant used at least as early as November 2023.
Notable uses
* ''Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
'' magazine stated in August 2023 that the large-scale use of Russian guided bombs greatly hindered the Ukrainian counteroffensive on the Zaporizhzhia front.
* FAB-1500 was claimed to have been used to strike the Antonovskiy Bridge in Kherson.
See also
* Soviet and Russian aerial bombs
Soviet Union and Russia, Russian Federation developed a range of aerial bombs for use on its aircraft.
Naming
The name of the bomb consists of the type of bomb (FAB-250M-46), its caliber in kilograms (FAB-250M-46), model by year of adoption (FAB ...
* JDAM Extended Range - American glide bomb kit
* LS-6 - Chinese glide bomb kit
References
{{Russian and Soviet Aircraft Ordnance
Aircraft weapons
Targeting (warfare)
Post–Cold War weapons of Russia
Aerial bombs of Russia
Guided bombs