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It is often said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness and this appears to be the status of Ukraine today as it attempts to produce an exact replica of Russia gliding and correction bomb kits.
The system, known as the UMPK [Russian: УМПК; Унифицированный модуль планирования и коррекции, Unified gliding and correction module] kit, was designed to allow unguided bombs like the FAB-500 to hit targets as far 80 kilometers away with high accuracy.
Ukrainian developed Medoed on June 25 released video footage showing a FAB-500 equipped with an exact replica of a UMPK kit being dropped from a Su-24 fighter bomber of the Ukrainian Air Force (UAF) during a recent test.
According to available information, the Ukrainian kit can currently reach a range of 60 kilometers. The range, of course, depends on the altitude, speed and trajectory of the warplane before the bomb is dropped. Work to extend the range to 80 kilometers is said to be underway.
While the UMPK uses a jam-resistant GLONASS-aided inertial navigation system, the Ukrainian copy likely utilizes some commercial GPS system.
UAF warplanes are already armed with several types of guided glide bombs supplied by its allies, including United States-made JDAM-ERs [joint direct attack munition-extanded range]. However, the supply is said to be short from the demands of the Ukrainians.
The UMPK kit has proven to be a real game changer. While Ukraine could benefit from copying the system, relying on GPS could make their replica vulnerable to Russian electronic warfare means. Western-made bombs supplied to the UAF are already being successfully jammed.
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