Ukrainian tech breakthrough weakens Russian KAB bomb threats
Russian KAB bombs are becoming increasingly ineffective thanks to Lima jammers. Here's how they work.
According to the portal Militarnyj, Ukrainian specialists have made a significant breakthrough in electronic warfare. This development has led to a noticeable decrease in the precision of Russian guided bombs, commonly known as KAB bombs.
KAB bombs, which are unguided FAB bombs outfitted with UMPK modules, are frequently used in attacks on Ukraine. Dropped from high altitudes, they can cover long distances. However, due to their low quality, these bombs often cause unpredictable incidents, such as the near miss of a dam near the village of Popovka.
Lima jammers
The Lima system is not a typical jammer. As reported by the Ukrainians, it employs a multi-band attack method grounded in digital signal suppression, disrupting communications, spoofing, and launching cyberattacks on Russian navigation receivers.
As a result, the precision of KAB bombs can be significantly reduced by 164 to 328 feet with 100 seconds of jamming. It's important to note that glide bombs can travel at speeds over Mach 1, exceeding 1,115 feet per second. For 100 seconds, the jammers must have a range of about 19 miles.
Jammers do not provide complete defense
A precision reduction of, for instance, 164 feet is effective against bombs weighing 550 or 1,100 pounds but less so against heavier bombs like the FAB-1500 and FAB-3000, weighing 3,300 and 6,600 pounds respectively.
These heavier bombs contain approximately 1,650 and 3,300 pounds of TNT, and their blast wave range is measured in hundreds of meters. In their case, a precision reduction of 164 to 328 feet doesn't make a significant difference. However, a downside is that the Su-34 can carry a maximum of three such heavy weapons, which limits its ability to attack multiple targets in one sortie compared to when lighter bombs are used.
