The Su-34 fighter jet carries four modified FAB-500T bombs equipped with improved guidance and range-extending kits of the Unified Planning and Correction Module, MWM writes.
The bombers have integrated extended UMPK modules that look significantly different from earlier versions introduced in 2023. The new design represents the latest stage in Russia's efforts to convert its vast Cold War-era bomb stockpile into precision-guided weapons.
Instead of relying on extremely expensive, custom-built precision weapons, Russia has taken a relatively low-cost approach by equipping conventional FAB-series bombs with modules for guidance, deployable wings, and satellite navigation systems. This allowed the Russian Aerospace Forces to deliver precision strikes at a fraction of the cost of dedicated cruise missiles, while using vast legacy Soviet bomb stockpiles.
The appearance of the Su-34 carrying four upgraded FAB-500T weapons also illustrates how the Russian Air Force has adapted its operational doctrine.
The first unified planning and correction modules allowed bombs to travel 40–50 kilometers when dropped from an altitude of 10–12,000 meters, before this range was later increased to 80 kilometers. In October 2025, the deputy head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine, Vadim Skibitsky, revealed that a new type of planning bomb had demonstrated a range of 193 kilometers. He stressed that this could fundamentally change the dynamics of the front line and is a turning point for the ability of aviation assets to deliver cheap mass strikes on targets located much deeper behind the front line.
The Su-34 was developed as an advanced version of the Soviet Su-27 air superiority fighter, specializing in air-to-ground operations, and is about 50% heavier, making it the largest and longest-range fighter in production in the world.