Incidents

The Russian Aviation uses thermobaric bombs ODAB-500: what is their danger-experts

Weapons are characterized by the ability to do catastrophic damage over a large area, analysts say. According to some reports, the radius can reach 300 meters. Front bombers of the SU-34 PCS of the Russian Federation began to apply new thermobaric bombs of ODB-500, equipped with a set of guidance of the UMPC, which transforms traditional bombs into high-precision managed ammunition.

As noted by Army Recognition, thanks to the thermobaric charge, such bombs are considered one of the most fragile types of weapons discharged from the air. The authors of the publication commented on personnel from Russian sources depicting one of the blows of the Russian fighter-bomber Su-34, armed ODAB-500.

It is noted that the characteristics of the aircraft allow it to be equipped with this type of weapons, since the machine has 12 points of placing weapons and is able to lift 8 tons in the air. The ODAB-500 aviation bomb is a type of fuel and air bomb (PZPFB), developed and used in Russia. These bombs are also known as thermobaric weapons and are designed to create an explosion with a high destination.

They accelerate a cloud of combustible aerosol, which then ignite, producing a powerful explosion. This explosion absorbs all available oxygen in the environment, creating a vacuum that can lead to a secondary, just as a devastating explosion.

"These weapons are characterized by the ability to do catastrophic damage over a large area, not only through explosion and heat, but also by consumption of oxygen, which can lead to the shortness of breath of those who are within the radius of the lesion," experts emphasized. The diameter of the ODAB-500 bomb is 500 mm, the length is 2380 mm. Its total weight is 525 kg, of which 193 kg falls on the explosive, but its composition is unknown.

When launching from the aircraft, it can be dropped from a height of 200 to 12,000 meters at speeds of up to 1500 km/h. In this case, the radius of the lesion, according to some reports, is within 300 meters, where the pressure reaches 90-120 atmospheres. It is possible to determine the use of this type of ammunition by a characteristic explosion, since it is something similar to the circle in water from a thrown stone.

It should be noted that some Russian experts claim that in general, these aviation bombs are more dangerous than the heavy flamethrowing systems of the Tos-1 "Solnaceke", since the mass of warheads is larger and ammunition itself is more accurate. We will remind, according to the German Bild, Russia for the first time used a heavy volume-detonating airbomb ODAB-1500 in Ukraine on March 30. The journalists noted that the blow fell into the village of Velyka Pisarivka in Sumy region.