Russia has been working on a new generation of guided glide bombs known as UMPK-PD (“extended range”) since at least 2023 – but the first image of the system being used only surfaced in March this year.
According to Ukrainian military issues outlet Defense Express, Russian Su-34 bombers have now begun to actively use these modified bombs, equipped with extended-range kits that allow strikes at ranges of up to 95 kilometers (60 miles) – significantly farther than the 60–80 kilometers (37.5-50 miles) range of previous UMPK versions.
The Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office recently confirmed that these new munitions had been used on strikes in the Kharkiv and Sumy regions, calling them test attacks.
Russia may still be experimenting and looking to increase its effective range even further, the Prosecutor’s Office suggested.
Reports that the Kremlin had developed these UMPK-PD first emerged in September 2024, with Russian military bloggers boasting that trials were nearing completion.
A photo that appeared in March 2025 showed a Su-34 front-line bomber carrying four FAB-500M62 bombs equipped with the new glide kits.
The updated bombs feature larger wings, stronger mounts, and a more powerful guidance system which according to Defense Express, the enhanced glide range creates two main advantages for Russian forces:
- Extended strike capability from already established frontline positions.
- Increased survivability for aircraft crews by allowing launches from safer distances.
However, there’s a catch: the longer a bomb relies on satellite navigation, the longer it’s exposed to Ukrainian electronic warfare systems, which can jam or divert it mid-flight, the report says.
To counter this vulnerability, Russia has begun installing Kometa-M satellite navigation antennas – with modules containing from 8 to 12 elements – the more elements these jamming-resistant systems have, the harder they are to disrupt.
Still, the accuracy of Russian weapons has always been relative, and the likely targets for these new bombs are not pinpoint military sites but residential and industrial areas in Ukrainian cities and towns. Defense Express warns that these new, relatively cheap weapons are aimed at terrorizing civilians, not altering the military balance.
Once considered a “wonder weapon,” Russia’s satellite-guided glide bombs – Soviet-era munitions modified with wings and navigation kits – played a key role in Russia’s 2024 advances in Donbas, including the fall of Avdiivka, thanks to their precision and range.
However, Ukraine has reportedly found a way to jam Russia’s powerful glide bombs. Ukrainian forces have now adapted, using electronic warfare to jam the bombs’ guidance systems.
Russian air force sources admit the bombs are increasingly missing targets by up to a kilometer, signaling the end of their “golden era,” according to Forbes and BulgarianMilitary.com.