KAB-500KR
Encyclopedia
The KAB-500KR is an electro-optical TV-guided fire and forget bomb developed by the Soviet Air Force
in the 1980s. It remains in service with the CIS
and various export customers.
The KAB-500KR is analogous to the American
GBU-15
weapon. It uses a standard Soviet/Russian FAB-500 general-purpose bomb
, with a nominal weight of 500 kg (1,102 lb), as a warhead, adding a low-light television
seeker and guidance fins to turn it into a guided, unpowered glide bomb.
The bomb is 3.05 m (10 ft) long and weighs 560 kg (1,234 lb), of which 380 kg (837 lb) is a hardened, armor-piercing warhead capable of penetrating up to 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) of reinforced concrete
. The weapon's seeker can lock onto a target at ranges of up to 15 to 17 km (9.4 to 10.6 miles), depending on visibility. The technology of KAB-500KR is also used for larger bombs, such as KAB-1500KR based on the 1500 kg class FAB-1500 iron bomb.
Soviet Air Force
The Soviet Air Force, officially known in Russian as Военно-воздушные силы or Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily and often abbreviated VVS was the official designation of one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces...
in the 1980s. It remains in service with the CIS
Commonwealth of Independent States
The Commonwealth of Independent States is a regional organization whose participating countries are former Soviet Republics, formed during the breakup of the Soviet Union....
and various export customers.
The KAB-500KR is analogous to the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
GBU-15
GBU-15
Guided Bomb Unit 15 is an unpowered, glide weapon used to destroy high-value enemy targets. It was designed for use with F-15E Strike Eagle, F-111 'Aardvark' and F-4 Phantom II aircraft, but the United States Air Force is currently only deploying it from the F-15E. The GBU-15 has long-range...
weapon. It uses a standard Soviet/Russian FAB-500 general-purpose bomb
General-purpose bomb
A general-purpose bomb is an air-dropped bomb intended as a compromise between blast damage, penetration, and fragmentation in explosive effect.-Characteristics:...
, with a nominal weight of 500 kg (1,102 lb), as a warhead, adding a low-light television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
seeker and guidance fins to turn it into a guided, unpowered glide bomb.
The bomb is 3.05 m (10 ft) long and weighs 560 kg (1,234 lb), of which 380 kg (837 lb) is a hardened, armor-piercing warhead capable of penetrating up to 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) of reinforced concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
. The weapon's seeker can lock onto a target at ranges of up to 15 to 17 km (9.4 to 10.6 miles), depending on visibility. The technology of KAB-500KR is also used for larger bombs, such as KAB-1500KR based on the 1500 kg class FAB-1500 iron bomb.