Each KAB bomb contains hundreds of kilograms of explosives. All buildings and structures simply turn into a pit after the arrival of one air bomb, noted fighter of the 3rd assault brigade Yegor Sugar.
The Russian Air Force monthly drops up to 3 thousand adjustable KAB aerial bombs on Ukrainian positions on the front line. That is why last Saturday, April 27, Ukraine sent dozens of long-range drones to an air base in the south of the Russian Federation and blew up a warehouse full of “smart” kits for CAB. Forbes writes about this.
Video and satellite images of the aftermath of the attack on the Kushchevskaya airbase, located about 200 km from the front line, show burnt buildings and piles of aircraft. The images may also indicate the destruction of at least one Su-34 fighter-bomber, which is believed to be the main carrier of the KAB.
Attack on a warehouse with KAB bombs
It will take much more than one raid on bases with aerial bombs to change the balance of firepower.
Ukraine’s ability to damage Russian tactical aircraft, especially those using guided bombs, will be key for defense, noted at the UK Ministry of Defence.
Since the middle of last year, KABs have become the main aviation ammunition of the Russian Air Force. These crude counterparts to American JDAMs and French Hammers have retractable wings and a range of about 40 km. They allow Russian aircraft to operate outside the radius of Ukrainian air defense.
Each KAB bomb contains hundreds of kg of explosives, the explosion leaves a crater 6 meters deep and about 20 wide.
“All buildings and structures simply turn into a pit after just one KAB bomb,” wrote Yegor Sugar, a soldier of the 3rd Assault Brigade.
KAB is a miracle weapon for Russians, noted the Ukrainian analytical group DeepState, and Ukraine has practically no protection against them. All that remains, perhaps, is to blow up the warehouses where the Russian Armed Forces store these bombs before installing four of them on Su-34 bombers.
It is unknown which Ukrainian drones attacked Kushchevskaya. These could be former Soviet reconnaissance drones with warheads instead of cameras or unmanned sports aircraft.
Be that as it may, this attack was large-scale. The Russian Federation reported that it shot down 66 drones. But not all. One definitely hit what was probably the main target of the raid: a barn full of KAB aerial bombs. Having destroyed perhaps dozens of bombs, Ukrainian drone operators gave their comrades on the front lines a brief respite of a day or so.
But many more raids on Russian bases will be needed to significantly limit Russian KAB attacks in the long term.
Let us recall that the expert explained whether the new batches of American weapons worth $61 billion contain protection against CAB.
It was also reported that, according to ISW, for the Russian Ministry of Defense, mass production of effective Troika and Ogonyok electronic warfare systems seems too expensive. Therefore, electronic warfare systems “Lesochek” and “Breakwater” are used, which do not protect against FPV.
