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How Russia Turns Dumb Bombs Into Deadly Guided Weapons, Ukraine Intelligence Reveals
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![Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko]( "Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko")
Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) has disclosed additional information on Russia’s production of Universal Planning and Correction Modules (UMPK), which Moscow is widely using to conduct airstrikes against Ukraine.
On January 2, HUR published new materials on the War&Sanctions portal, including an interactive 3D model of the UMPK, a comprehensive overview of its component base, and details on 31 companies involved in manufacturing the modules. These kits enable Russia to transform unguided aerial munitions—such as the FAB-500M62, FAB-250, RBK-500, ODAB-500, ODAB-1500, FAB-3000, and others—into guided aerial bombs known as KABs.
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Ukrainian intelligence explained that the UMPK consists of a load-bearing frame, a nose fairing, folding wings, elevons, and stabilizers, which are mounted onto the bomb using special clamps. Targeting is achieved through the SMART glide control system, a satellite navigation unit equipped with a jam-resistant adaptive Kometa antenna (with either four or eight elements), as well as a strapdown inertial navigation system.
HUR further noted that in 2024 Russia began deploying FAB-500T bombs equipped with extended-range UMPK-PD modules. These upgraded versions feature a larger wing area, a longer structural frame, a 12-element Kometa-M12 antenna, and an improved SMART control block, allowing for a substantially increased glide range.
According to the intelligence agency, the primary developer of the UMPK modules and the main executor of Russia’s state defense contract is the Tactical Missiles Corporation.
At the same time, HUR emphasized that some companies involved in UMPK production remain outside international sanctions regimes. Among them are JSC SKTB “KURGANPRIBOR,” which carries out the final assembly of the UMPK-250 and UMPK-500 modules, and JSC “GEFEST & T,” which develops and installs the SVP-24 “Gefest” computing systems on the main aircraft platforms used to deploy guided bombs, including the Su-34, Su-35S, and Su-24M.
“The absence of these companies from sanctions lists allows them to freely procure goods and technologies from abroad and to conduct financial transactions through international banks,” HUR added.
In July 2025, for instance, Russian forces attacked residential areas of Kharkiv hitting the central Shevchenkivskyi district with two KABs and injuring at least 22 people, according to Mayor Ihor Terekhov.
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Two explosions were reported at around 11:06 a.m., according to Suspilne journalists on the ground. The Ukrainian Air Force said the attacks involved KABs launched from the north in the direction of Kharkiv.
One of the bombs hit a high-rise apartment building. A second strike landed on a civilian enterprise, sparking a fire.
Earlier, it was reported that a Russian Su-34 aircraft launched an air-dropped munition from the direction of the Black Sea toward Mykolaiv in October 2025, in what is believed to be the first documented use of a guided aerial bomb against the Mykolaiv region.
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-e7c00ec7f866456f46a8bb0fa03ee739.jpg "“Certain Systems Are Left Empty”: Ukrainian Official Warns of Critical Air Defense Missile Gaps")
