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, shaped for internal carriage by heavy bombers, a low-drag M-62 version in 1962 was intended for fighter bomber external hardpoint carriage. Early models were  unguided, with a single nose fuze, and compatible with most models of Soviet aircraft. 

The latest variants of the FAB-500 bomb use the UMPK, a winged system developed after 2022 Ukraine war, for precision satellite guidance and increased stand-off distance.

Operational history 
The FAB-500 was widely employed over Afghanistan by Soviet and allied Afghan forces in the 1980s and saw use during the 2011-2019 Syrian civil war, where it was carried by both Russian and Syrian warplanes.

The M62 variant has been used by Russian military forces in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. On 13 March 2022 and 14 May 2022, FAB-500 bombs were found in Ukrainian cities of Chernihiv and Odesa. 

In March 2023, Russian Su-35s launched a number of FAB-500 M-62, wreckage of which indicated that they had been fitted with an UMPK, a glide kit involving pop-out wings. It is unknown whether these had an internal navigation system, or were fitted with wings simply to extend the range to up to 70 km. It also is believed that these give Russian aircraft a stand-off ability to hit Ukrainian targets without risking exposure to Ukrainian air defences.

As of May 2023, UMPK-equipped FAB-500 glide bombs have continued to be used by Russia in Ukraine, with up to 20 of them being dropped every day, and Ukrainian air defences lack the capability to intercept them. The full-scale training of Russian pilots on using the bombs reportedly started in November 2023.

According to the Institute for the Study of War, FAB-500 "hold an explosive weight of 150 kilograms, have a damage radius of 250 meters, and can destroy headquarters, warehouses, and concrete and reinforced concrete objects."

Operational envelope (FAB-500 M-62)

 Release altitude: 
 Release speed:

Variants

 FAB-500 M-54 (ФАБ-500 М-54) – original 1954 high-drag model intended for internal carriage in heavy bombers, featuring a ballistic ring on the nose of the bomb to act as a vortex generator to aid the bomb's stabilizers.
 FAB-500 M-62 (ФАБ-500 М-62) – low-drag 1962 model designed for external carriage on hardpoints on fighter-bombers.
 FAB-500 M-62T – heat-resistant, capable of withstanding high-temperature aerodynamic heating, arising during flight at high speeds. Developed for the MiG-25RB.
 FAB-500 M-62 MPK (ФАБ-500 М-62 с МПК)
 FAB-500T (ФАБ-500Т)
 FAB-500TA (ФАБ-500ТА)
 FAB-500ShN (ФАБ-500ШН) – parachute-retarded thin cased bomb
 FAB-500ShL (ФАБ-500ШЛ) – parachute-retarded high explosive bomb
 FAB-500 M46 (ФАБ-500 М46)
 FAB-500 M44 (ФАБ-500 М44)
 FAB-500 M43 (ФАБ-500 М43)
 FAB-500-300 (ФАБ-500-300) – thick cased high explosive
 FAB-500TS (ФАБ-500ТС) – thick cased high explosive and fragmentation
 FAB-500TSM (ФАБ-500ТСМ)
 OFAB-500 (ОФАБ-500) – general purpose high explosive fragmentation bomb (contains 3 x 150 kg submunitions)
 OFAB-500U (ОФАБ-500У) – delayed action fragmentation bomb
 OFAB-500ShR (ОФАБ-500ШP) – parachute-retarded fragmentation bomb

Operators

See also
Soviet and Russian aerial bombs
FAB-250
FAB-1500
Mark 83 bomb – American counterpart

References

Cold War aerial bombs of the Soviet Union
Military equipment introduced in the 1950s