Conventional — blast · USSR / Russia · 1954
FAB-3000
FAB-3000 M-54
An old heavy bomb brought back into service: the UMPK kit allows it to be released tens of kilometers from the target.
See FAB-3000 in the 3D simulator- TNT equivalent
- 1.4 tUncertain
- Energy
- 5.86 GJ
- Mass
- 3 tDocumented
- Explosive charge
- 1.4 tUncertain
- Type
- High-blast bomb (sometimes fitted with a glide kit)
- Period
- Cold War – today
- Status
- Current
FAB-3000 releases about 11,000 times less energy than Little Boy (Hiroshima, 1945).
Key points
- About 3 times the energy of a Mk 84, but 8 times less than a MOAB.
History
Adding cheap guidance kits to old bombs illustrates how recent conflicts have evolved.
- 1954 The M-54 series is adopted.
- 2024 First reported uses with the UMPK kit in Ukraine.
How does it work?
A conventional bomb releases chemical energy: the explosive decomposes into very hot gases in a few microseconds (detonation).
Order of magnitude: a few megajoules per kilogram of explosive (1 kg of TNT ≈ 4.2 MJ), millions of times less than nuclear reactions for the same mass.
The expanding gases violently compress the air: the shock wave weakens very quickly with distance.
Deliberately general explanations: the application provides no design or manufacturing information.
Frequently asked questions
How powerful is FAB-3000?
FAB-3000 has an estimated yield of 1.4 t of TNT equivalent, about 5.86 GJ of energy.
What is the history of FAB-3000?
Bomb of the M-54 series; used by Russia in Ukraine since 2024 with a glide and guidance kit (UMPK). Adding cheap guidance kits to old bombs illustrates how recent conflicts have evolved.
What does the FAB-3000 explosion look like?
The Bomb Simulator shows the fireball, shock wave and cloud of FAB-3000 at real scale, over Paris, London or New York, with the sources and reliability of each value.
Sources
- FAB-3000 — Wikipedia (overview, to be cross-checked)
Other weapons
- Tallboy — 3.1 t
- Grand Slam — 5.5 t
- FAB-5000NG — 4 t
- FAB-9000 — 4.3 t
- BLU-82 — 5.7 t
- GBU-28 — 0.3 t
- Mk 84 — 0.5 t
- GBU-43/B MOAB — 11 t
- FOAB — 44 t
- GBU-57 MOP — 3 t
This application is an educational tool. The animations and effect zones are simplified representations meant to illustrate orders of magnitude. They are neither a prediction of the effects of a real weapon nor a military planning tool.