FAB-500

The FAB-500 is a Soviet designed, general purpose, air-dropped bomb with a total weight of 500 kilogram with a high-explosive warhead, primarily used by the Russian Air Force, 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.[2][3] The bomb is unguided, features a single nose fuse, and is compatible with most models of Soviet aircraft.[4] The FAB-500 was largely employed over Afghanistan by Soviet and allied Afghan forces during the 1980s.[5][6] It has been used most recently over Syria by both Russian and Syrian warplanes.[7]

FAB-500 M-62 General Purpose (GP) Bomb[1]
FAB-500 M-62, first in foreground
TypeHigh-drag and Low-drag general-purpose bomb
Place of originSoviet Union
Production history
Produced1954-present (M-54); 1962-present M-62
VariantsKAB-500
Specifications
Mass500 kilograms (1,100 lb)
Length2,470 millimetres (97.2 in)
Diameter400 millimetres (15.7 in)
Filling weight300 kilograms (660 lb)
FAB-500 M-54 General-purpose bomb (high drag version)
up to 18 FAB-500 M-54 general-purpose bombs on two underwing pylons and internal bay of a Tu-22M

Operational envelope (FAB-500 M-62)
  • Release altitude: 570–12,000 metres (1,870–39,400 ft)
  • Release speed: 500–1,900 kilometres per hour (311–1,180 mph)[8]

Variants
  • FAB-500 M-54 – 1954 model, original high-drag model intended for internal carriage on heavy bombers, featuring a ballistic ring on the nose of the bomb to act as a vortex generator to aid the bombs stabilizers.[9]
  • FAB-500 M-62 – 1962 model, low-drag model designed for external carriage on hardpoints on fighter-bombers.

See also

References
  1. "FAB-500 M-62 high-explosive bomb". Rosoboronexport.
  2. https://www.jmu.edu/cisr/_pages/research/afghanistan-oig/01-bomb.pdf
  3. https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russia/bombs.htm
  4. "FAB-500". Guide to Military Equipment and Civil Aviation. 2017-07-15. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  5. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/153206738.pdf
  6. https://www.halotrust.org/latest/halo-updates/news/dfid-funded-eod-team-defuses-500kg-aircraft-bomb-in-herat-city/
  7. "The Su-22 Is Syria's War-Weary Warhorse". War Is Boring. 2017-02-15. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  8. http://roe.ru/eng/catalog/aerospace-systems/air-bombs/fab-500-m-62/
  9. Gordon, Yefim (2004). Soviet / Russian aircraft weapons : since World War Two. Hinkley: Midland Publishing. p. 158. ISBN 1857801881. OCLC 56650196.
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