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BetAB-500ShP



Overview


BetAB-500ShP

Three BetAB-500ShP ready to be loaded onto an aicraft.
Source: www.mil.ru - © GNU Attribution - Share Alike license

Origin
Soviet Union
Type
Concrete piercing anti-runway bomb
Entered service
1990's?
Status
In service
Development
1980's?
Developer
Soviet Union
Production
1980's? - present
Producer
Soviet Union - Bazalt
Russia - Bazalt
Designations
БЕТАБ 500 ШП (cyrillic)
Notable users
Russia

Description


Introduction

The BetAB-500ShP is a late Cold War era concrete piercing anti-runway bomb of Soviet origin. Whereas other BetAB bombs are mostly intended for use against hardened targets like bunkers, the ShP version has been optimized for low level anti-runway use.

Design

Several unique features are associated with the BetAB-500ShP. It is both parachute retarded and rocket assisted. The bomb portion itself is a rather standard thick walled general purpose bomb with delayed impact fuse. The conical cannister at the rear holds a parachute. This allows for a low level drop at an altitude as limited as 170 meters. Furthermore it makes the bomb point straight down towards the runway before ignition of the rocket engine. The center mounted 10-nozzle solid fuel rocket engine provides extra velocity and penetration, driving the bomb straight into the runway at speed.

Firepower

A total of 77 kg high explosive with a delayed impact fuse is housed inside the BetAB-500ShP. Combined with the kinetic energy of the penetrating impact this results in a 4.5 m diameter crater with a 150 square meter damage area. Although intended for use against runways, the BetAB-500ShP can still be used in a more generic anti-structures role.

Application

The main difficulty of an anti-runway bomb is delivering it over what is usually a well defended target. The BetAB-500ShP tries to achieve this by low altitude delivery at high speeds. The BetAB-500ShP is a highly capable anti-runway bomb. A drawback is its high weight, reducing the number of aircraft that can easily carry multiple of these bombs at high low level speeds.

Platforms

Various Soviet/Russian aircraft can carry and drop the BetAB-500ShP anti-runway bomb. The Su-24 and newer Su-34 strike aircraft possess the ability to carry multiple of these bombs at high speeds. The Su-25 ground attack aircraft cannon reach these high low level speeds at full weight, but has the ability to carry multiple of these bombs. The multirole variants of the Su-27 family of aircraft also possess the ability to carry multiple bombs at high speeds.

Users

The BetAB-500ShP has been adopted by the Russian air forces and has been marketed for export sales. This bomb has been used by Russian forces in Syria against urban targets.

BetAB-500ShP

Live fire demonstration of BetAB-500ShP bombs. The bombs on the left are still being retarded by parachute, while those on the right have their rocket motors ignited.
Source: saidpvo.livejournal.com - © Copyright lies with original owner

Details


Facts BetAB-500ShP
General
Origin
Soviet Union
Type
Concrete piercing aviation bomb
Dimensions
Weight
380 kg
Length
2.509 mm
Diameter
0.325 mm
Wingspan
0.45 m
Lug spacing
250 mm
Guidance
Guidance mode
None, freefall bomb
Warhead
Warhead type
Penetrating high explosive bomb
Warhead weight
77 kg high explosive
Casing thickness
35 mm steel at nose
25 mm steel walls
Fuse
Delayed impact tail fuse
Effect
Penetratior
0.55 m concrete
Damage area
4.5 m crater diameter
50 m² pavement collapse area
150 m² damage area
Launch envelope
Release altitude
170 m minimum
1 km maximum
Release speed
700 to 1.100 km/h
Retarder
Parachute retarded after release
Rocket assisted terminal boost

Media