Russia to start serial production of Drel glide bombs this year

A representative of the Russian state defence conglomerate Rostec has said that Russia plans to start serial production of its new glide Drel bomb this year.

"To date, the product has passed all types of tests," TASS cited an unnamed representative as saying on January 10, adding that "the production of the first batch of the Drel aerial bomb is planned for 2024".

The Drel is designed to destroy armoured vehicles, ground-based radar stations, power plant control centres and anti-aircraft missile systems, TASS said. Military analysts say it is also resistant to jamming and to radar detection, making it difficult to destroy.

TASS said that if the destructive element of the Drel bomb does not work on a given target, it will self-destruct after a certain time and "will not pose a danger to the population after the cessation of hostilities."

Russian and Western sources report that Drel is a type of cluster bomb. Cluster munitions are prohibited by more than 100 countries. They typically release large numbers of smaller bomblets that can kill indiscriminately over a wide area. Those that fail to explode can pose a danger for decades.

The Drel glide air bomb was engineered by the Bazalt Research and Production Association (within the Tecmash Enterprise). The latest glide bomb is designed to destroy armour, ground radar stations, command posts and propulsion units of surface-to-air missile systems. Reports about the creation of a new bomb emerged in 2016. The latest glide bomb is expected to be invisible on radar screens.

The bombs, some of Russia's newest weapons, are capable of flying independently using a gliding flight path onto a target at a greater distance and opening above it at "the right moment," TASS reported

Ukraine, which has received cluster munitions from the United States but pledged to use it only to dislodge concentrations of enemy soldiers, has said Russia has already been deploying its bombs to Ukraine, calling them "an extremely great threat."

The information about the use of the bombs in Ukraine is confidential. Russia's President Vladimir Putin said in July of last year that Russia would use cluster bombs in Ukraine if it has to.