UMEX 2024 – PGB-128: an airborne high-precision gliding bomb from Serbia
At UMEX 2024 the Serbian company Green Power Turbine Systems unveiled its PGB-128 high-precision gliding bomb, intended for launch from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)
It has now become quite obvious that low-speed UAVs are vulnerable to air defence systems fire. At the same time, they are quite suitable as carriers of air-to-surface loitering ammunition or gliding bombs launched outside the coverage area of military air defence systems. At the UMEX 2024 exhibition, various ammunition of this type was presented, the advantages of which include range, small radar cross-section (RCS), powerful warhead and high accuracy.
The PGB-128 128 mm calibre gliding bomb has a fully modular design and a conventional aerodynamic configuration. It is designed to engage stationary ground targets and can be dropped from UAVs external hard points that comply with the NATO MIL-STD-8591 standard. Guidance is provided by an inertial navigation system (INS), which position is updated by GPS signals from satellites, when available. It is possible to additionally equip the ammunition with an imaging infrared (IIR) or semi-active laser (SAL) homing system to obtain near surgical accuracy, the circular error probability (CEP) with SAL being less than 3 metres. The minimum flight range of the ammunition when released from UAV-carrier at 2,000 meters altitude is 15 km, this range increasing to 60 km should the weapon be dropped from 7,620 metres.
The PGB-128 is 1.053 metres long, has a 1.49 metres wingspan, and weighs 30 kg, 18 kg being the warhead. The body is made of composite material. The upper wings are folded during transport and deploy after separation from the UAV-.
As a representative of the Green Power Turbine Systems told EDR On-Line, serial production of the new gliding bomb has now begun. The company started developing a variant of the PGB-128 to be used from a ground launcher. This ammunition will have a combined flight trajectory. With the help of a rocket booster, the PGB-128 will be launched to a given altitude and then, after deploying the wings, it will switch to a gliding flight path.
