According to foreign media reports, Russia has recently started using a new type of glide range and guidance kit (UMPK) to retrofit the FAB-3000 aerial bomb, giving this old-fashioned free fall bomb long-range precision strike capability. Although aviation bombs have the advantages of simple structure, high power, and low cost, they must be mounted by fighter jets, bombers, etc. and flown over enemy targets for aerial bombing, with limited range and insufficient strike accuracy. In today's era of precision strikes, how to unleash the power of these aerial bombs has become a problem that air forces around the world are considering and solving. The gliding guidance kit allows aerial bombs to break through limitations and possess long-range precision strike capabilities. In fact, this practice has been around for a long time. The development of "smart bombs" is generally believed that precision guided bombs were widely used during the Gulf War and earned the title of "smart bombs". However, the earliest appearance of guided bombs can be traced back to the Hs-293 bomb, which was born during World War II. This bomb is built on the basis of ordinary aerial bombs by adding radio receivers, wings, and tail fins, and has directional attack capabilities. It is considered the world's first guided bomb. During the Vietnam War, the US military launched a large-scale air strike operation codenamed "Rolling Thunder" against Vietnam, which was met with strong counterattacks from Vietnamese ground to air missiles and radar guided anti-aircraft guns. In order to accurately drop bombs beyond the range of Vietnamese missiles and anti-aircraft guns, the US military began developing a series of guided bombs. The first AGM-62 "White Eye Star" TV guided bomb to appear had a range of 20 kilometers, but did not have all-weather combat capability and low hit accuracy. Subsequently, the US military successively launched the GBU-8/9 laser guided bomb and the GBU-15 television/infrared imaging guided bomb. Among them, the GBU-15 bomb equipped with large-area wings has significantly increased its strike range and has the ability to accurately strike outside the defense zone. Afterwards, the US military developed the GBU-24 "Jewel Road" series of laser guided bombs, which were based on the Mk82 aerial bomb and BLU-109/166 ground penetrating bomb, and were made by adding laser guidance systems and folding wings. During the same period, the Soviet Union also developed a series of precision guided bombs such as KAB-250/500/1500, including extended range models. In the 1990s, with the changing demands of the battlefield, gliding guided bombs developed towards longer range and stronger maneuverability. At that time, precision guided bombs had insufficient range, and the use of expensive guidance heads such as television/infrared imaging/laser guidance made it difficult to use on a large scale. Therefore, the development of more advanced precision guided bombs has become a necessity for all countries. During this period, Lockheed Martin and the European Missile Group respectively launched extended range guidance kits. Among them, Lockheed Martin's "long-range" kit adopts a swept wing design and for the first time uses a relatively inexpensive GPS guidance device, while the European Missile Group's "Diamond Back" kit adopts a series folding wing design. These two types of extended range guidance kits are widely used in the modification of "Jeddam" extended range guided bombs and small diameter bombs, increasing the range of precision guided bombs to over 70 kilometers. Compared to early gliding guided bombs, the modified American "Jeddam" extended range guided bomb using the extended range guidance kit is more convenient, effective, and cost-effective. Do not change the structure of the aerial bomb. In the past, when ordinary aviation bombs were modified into gliding guided bombs, the approach of "cutting the head and leaving the tail in the middle" was adopted, which involved installing guidance devices on the warhead and wings on the tail of the bomb. The modification work was time-consuming, labor-intensive, and costly. The new gliding guidance kit generally adopts the "carrying" or "hanging" method, fixing the guidance kit above or below the projectile without changing the shape of the bomb. This modification work can be completed at frontline airports, which is more convenient and fast. Don't worry after dropping the bomb. In the past, gliding guided bombs that used guidance systems such as television, infrared imaging, and laser guidance required pilots or frontline guides on board to intervene in the strike process and guide the guided bomb to strike the target. The new gliding guidance kit is equipped with a built-in satellite navigation module. Under the guidance of navigation satellites, bombs can accurately hit their targets without the need for personnel intervention, achieving a "drop and forget" combat mode and significantly improving strike accuracy. The Russian FAB series high resistance aviation bombs are widely compatible with multiple bombs. Early gliding navigation missiles often adopted a "one missile, one modification" approach, making it difficult to use a common modification technique between different missiles. The new gliding guidance kit adopts a modular design and can be used to modify various types of aircraft bombs within its carrying range. For example, the Russian UMPK kit can be modified with various types of aerial bombs, and even used to modify high yield and high resistance aerial bombs in actual combat, greatly increasing the range of these old-fashioned aerial bombs that were originally only used for aerial bombing and becoming "flying beasts" outside the defense zone. Folding wings fly further. Early gliding guided bombs often used small and medium-sized fixed wings with a range of about 20 kilometers. The new gliding guided bomb adopts large-area folding wings, with a range generally exceeding 65 kilometers. For example, the range of the "Jettam" extended range guided missile using the "long-range" kit exceeds 72 kilometers, and the range of the GBU-39 small-diameter glide guided bomb using the "Diamond Back" kit reaches 110 kilometers, exceeding the range of most medium to long range air defense missiles and ensuring the safety of the launch carrier. In addition to the United States and Russia, Germany, Türkiye and India have also begun to develop glide guidance kits. In the future, the gliding guidance kit will be further iterated and upgraded to have more functions while maintaining low cost, further enhancing the combat capability of aerial bombs. Starting from 2019, the US military launched the "Golden Horde" program, which established a coordinated autonomous strike relationship between these missiles by adding new technology to their guidance kits based on the GBU-39 small-diameter gliding guided bomb. The missile swarm can autonomously evaluate and prioritize targets, and take the lead in striking high priority targets. At present, the project is still under development, and this coordinated autonomous strike by missile groups has become one of the development directions of the US Air Force's air strikes. The US Army integrated the GBU-39 small diameter gliding guided bomb with a 227mm rocket and launched it using the "Haimas" rocket launcher to create the Land Launched Small Diameter Gliding Guided Bomb (GLSDB). The new bomb can fly towards the target area at "rocket speed", enhancing its effectiveness in striking time sensitive targets. Its range has also increased from 80 kilometers for 227mm rockets to 150 kilometers, allowing it to accurately strike long-range targets. This method of using rocket launchers to launch guided bombs has been favored by the army and is currently being used to develop land launched glide guided bombs. (New Society)