Ukrainian Countermeasure to Russian KAB Announcement: Implications of the Unveiled Autonomous Strike Units
A New Ball in the Game: Ukraine's Home-Brewed KAB
Ukrainian engineers are giving Russia's KABs a run for their money with a homegrown high-precision guided bomb. This weapon, christened 'Ukrainian KAB', can travel up to 60 km, boasting an accuracy of just 3 meters. This domestic creation, based on Soviet ammunition, has the potential to greatly augment the Ukrainian military, given the necessary funds and mass production. We dig into the nitty-gritty of this new toy, its cost, and its game-changing potential.
Unveiled by the Ukrainian design bureau "Medoid" on June 25, the Ukrainian KAB is still in the testing phase. Defense Express shares that this baby has already passed tests with flying colors. Videos from the developers depict bomb drops from a frontline Su-24 bomber in horizontal flight. Oleg Vostrikh, KBM representative from "Medoid", elaborated that the 500-kilogram bomb's guidance and control module is an indigenous development.
The design of the wing modules resembles the Russian KAB, saving development time. However, the internal components differ, as the Ukrainian engineers strive for higher accuracy. The navigation module is also Ukrainian, but a collaboration with a new French company's development is being considered to bolster resistance to electronic warfare (EW) means. Some components will still need to be imported.
Currently, the Ukrainian KAB can fly guided for up to 60 km, accurately hitting targets. Future plans include increasing the range to 80 km, and under specific conditions (release from 10 km altitude), the range could stretch to 100 km. The tactic of usage plays a crucial role in realizing the full potential of this weapon.
The project is being hampered by a lack of funds. The cost of one such unit is approximately 1.2 million UAH. Funding is the main roadblock hindering the completion of the project before the commencement of serial production.
Military expert Pavel Narozhny opines that the Ukrainian KAB could pack a significant destructive force against the Russian army. A 500kg KAB could demolish a multi-story building, taking out two to three floors. Comparatively, a ballistic missile with a 450-480kg warhead can demolish an entire apartment block. KABs, however, travel slower than ballistic missiles, which influences the nature of damage, but not its destructive capacity.
Special concrete-piercing aviation bombs, designed for destroying fortifications, have a more robust body made of special steel and less explosives. In contrast, standard KABs are fragmentation bombs with thin walls that explode on impact. They can penetrate only 1-2 concrete floors, but not a bunker. That's why the Russians often use them against civilian infrastructure, bombing every building or fortification in a city they're storming.
The low cost and availability of KABs are one of the reasons behind their widespread use. Ukraine possesses vast stocks of Soviet-era aviation bombs, numbering tens of thousands. These can be modernized using a universal planning and guidance module (UMPK) that turns ordinary bombs into guided weapons. The Ukrainian developers likely replicated this module when creating their KAB. The American equivalent, JDAM, has a unique structure with a tail section and wings.
The navigation system of KABs is built on two components: an inertial system (gyroscope) and GPS correction. This allows for an accuracy of impact within 3 meters at a range of up to 60 km. The cost of the module can reach 150,000 dollars for Russian UMPK, while the American equivalent from Boeing costs 25-30,000 dollars, but it is less resistant to electronic warfare.
In conclusion, the Ukrainian KAB shares many characteristics with the Russian UMPK, such as range, accuracy, cost, and potential impact on the ongoing conflict. If funding and production scale issues are addressed, the Ukrainian KAB has the potential to significantly boost Ukraine's long-range precision strike capacity, which may influence battlefield dynamics and Russian tactics by imposing greater risks on their rear and logistics areas.
The domestic creation, the Ukrainian KAB, shows promise in adultterating the dynamics of war-and-conflicts, as it competes with the Russian KAB in precision and range. In politics, this advancement could impact general-news by influencing military strategy and potentially shifting the balance of power in ongoing conflicts.
