Russia has been reported to use ODAB-1500 thermobaric bombs against Ukraine, which have a larger blast radius than conventional bombs of the same size.
The bomb, weighing 1.5 tonnes, carries a fuel-air mixture instead of conventional explosives. The damage effect is focused on the high pressure and heat generated with the detonation of released fuel.
An image of what is reportedly the explosion of a bomb in a Ukrainian city surfaced on social media. The tall smoke cloud further supports the reports regarding the use of bombs.
Given the payload capacities, ODAB-1500 can be carried by Su-27/30/35 and MiG-29 fighter jets and the bombers in service with the Russian Air Force. Russia previously developed a lighter fuel-air explosive bomb named ODAB-500.
ODAB-1500 isn’t the only new weapon put into use by the Russian Air Force to increase the effectiveness of bombing runs. A small-diameter bomb named D-30 SN is also used to target Ukrainian cities with an approximate range of 90 km. The bomb can also be deployed from BM-30 Smerch MRLS in a rocket-boosted configuration.
