The russia’s Air Force began to use glide bombs more often, in particular, the use of the UPAB-1500B has been already recorded, as well as unsuccessful launch of russia’s JDAM-ER analogue, which fell in Donetsk.
The wreckage of the Grom-E1, which is a hybrid of a gliding bomb and a missile, was also published today. It’s not known where exactly the wreckage was found and how long it had been there.
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The peculiar wings that open in the air say that in the photo is the Grom-E1 missile. At the same time, unlike conventional planing bombs, this munition with a total weight of 594 kg and a warhead of 315 kg has a jet engine that allows to increase the drop range. In particular, russian sources indicate that the Grom-E1 has a range of up to 120 km. For the version without an engine, called Grom-E2, this figure is up to 65 km, since it carries additional 165 kg warhead instead.
![There’s Evidence That Russia Uses a Missile And a Cruise Bomb Hybrid Called Grom-E1, Defense Express, war in Ukraine, Russian-Ukrainian war](/media/contentimages/c76640e111181fcd.jpg)
Defense Express notes that the maximum drop range depends on the height and speed of the carrier, therefore the range of 120 km is covered when dropped from a height of 12 km and a speed of 1600 km/h. With lower flight performance, the range may be shorter, which is also indicated by the illustration for the Grom-E1 presentation, where the damage range is about 35 km when dropped from a height of 5 km.
![There’s Evidence That Russia Uses a Missile And a Cruise Bomb Hybrid Called Grom-E1, Defense Express, war in Ukraine, Russian-Ukrainian war](/media/contentimages/0a6640e10d388ada.jpg)
The Grom-E1 is guided by an inertial and satellite navigation system, and the target types include "vulnerable ground targets with known coordinates." In addition to the standard high-explosive part, development in a thermobaric design with the possibility of high-altitude detonation was also declared.
The first demonstration of the ammunition took place in 2015. As of 2019, it was reported that the Grom-E1 and Grom-E2 tests were completed.
The ammunition itself is based on the Kh-38 air-to-ground missile, which has been manufactured since the 90s with the following declared parameters combination: a range of up to 40 km and a maximum speed of Mach 2.2. This missile was put into service in 2013. After that the manufacturer declared its modernization with an increased launch range of up to 70 km.
![There’s Evidence That Russia Uses a Missile And a Cruise Bomb Hybrid Called Grom-E1, Defense Express, war in Ukraine, Russian-Ukrainian war](/media/contentimages/311640e10c3897f7.jpg)
But given the small number of photos and videos of aircraft carrying the Kh-38, this missile remains rare in russia.
![There’s Evidence That Russia Uses a Missile And a Cruise Bomb Hybrid Called Grom-E1, Defense Express, war in Ukraine, Russian-Ukrainian war](/media/contentimages/1a1640e10ba333bb.jpg)
Nevertheless, it requires special attention that russia began active attempts to use gliding bombs, at a time when only the Kh-59 guided missiles were recorded as a long-range weapon.
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