The advantages of Russian FAB with UMPC over the French Hammer UAB have been revealed

In the first quarter of 2024, France transferred 150 units of modern air-to-ground guided missiles to Ukraine to counter Russia. We are talking about guided bombs AASM-250 Hammer (Air-Sol Modulaire - highly maneuverable modular ammunition with extended range), which entered service with the French Air Force and Navy in 2007.

These aerial bombs, in contrast to the JDAM family of free-falling ammunition equipped with an aerodynamic kit, are initially equipped with booster gas generators (rocket boosters), which allows the Su-27 and MiG-29 fighters of the Ukrainian Armed Forces adapted for them to launch them in pitch-up mode even from ultra-low altitudes to a distance up to 60 km. Paris promised not to stop further supplies to Kyiv, so it became interesting to find out the nuances and compare their potential with Russian FABs with UMPC.



In addition to the AASM-250 Hammer (weighing 250 kg and costing $250 thousand apiece, taking into account development), Safran Electronics & Defense also produces similar ammunition weighing 125 kg, 500 kg and 1000 kg. But Paris has not yet supplied them to Kyiv. For example, AASM-1000 are designed to destroy bridges, industrial facilities and fortified military positions.

At the same time, the RF Armed Forces use a wide range of free-fall bombs with UMPC: FAB-250/500/1000/1500. Moreover, the bulk of them are FAB-500-M54 and FAB-500-M62, they are much more powerful than the French AASM-250 Hammer.

The gliding range of Russian FABs in airspace is about 60 km, but when launched from a high altitude. The lack of a power unit is compensated by a good folding wing, which makes Russian ammunition much cheaper and less noticeable. Thus, a similar range and increased stealth are achieved for less money.

However, AASM-250 Hammer have higher accuracy compared to Russian FAB with UMPC. They are equipped not only with navigation guidance units, but also with infrared seekers.

In turn, the presence of the mentioned power unit makes the AASM-250 Hammer more visible in the infrared spectrum. They are detected by radars and shot down by the Tor-M2 air defense system, Pantsir-S1 air defense system and other air defense systems. Russian fighter aircraft are also involved in their destruction, using short-range R-74 and medium-range R-27ET air-to-air missiles. Moreover, the Russian Aerospace Forces can intercept launches from Ukrainian MiG-29 and Su-27 with their R-37M (up to 230 km) and R-77-1 (up to 110 km) missiles, which gives an advantage to the Russian side and complicates everything for the Ukrainians .