Serbia’s Vlatacom unveils vMOAB-4T guided air-burst bomb at Partner 2025 in Belgrade
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Serbia displayed a 4-ton Massive Ordnance Air Blast–style guided bomb, the vMOAB-4T, at the PARTNER 2025 defense exhibition in Belgrade. The air-burst weapon targets soft and semi-fortified sites and is aimed to countries seeking heavy precision strike options deployable from cargo aircraft.
During Partner 2025, Serbia, through Vlatacom Institute, unveiled the vMOAB-4t Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb. The weapon belongs to a new family of very large guided aerial bombs aimed at defeating soft targets and medium-fortified structures with overwhelming shock waves and secondary fragmentation. The 4-ton variant shown on the floor is the lightest member of a series that Vlatacom says will also include 7-ton and 10-ton classes, indicating a deliberate push by Serbia’s industry into the niche of ultra-heavy precision strike munitions.Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
Serbia’s Vlatacom vMOAB-4t is a 4-ton guided air blast bomb designed for cargo aircraft delivery, featuring GNSS/INS guidance, grid fins, a massive warhead with airburst proximity fuze, and the ability to devastate soft and semi-fortified targets with overwhelming shock and fragmentation effects (Picture source: Army Recognition Group).
The vMOAB-4t centers on a single-purpose warhead designated vMW-4t, sized to deliver a high-mass blast over a wide footprint. The casing is designed to fragment at detonation, adding a lethal radius beyond the shock front. To maximize terminal effects, the bomb integrates a proximity sensor set from Vlatacom’s vPSK-M23 line, providing altitude-based fuzing so the warhead can burst at the programmed height above the target instead of on contact. This airburst mode is critical for cratering light structures, dismantling trench lines, collapsing above-ground bunkers, and clearing large open areas such as supply parks or air defense revetments.
Guidance is handled by a combined GNSS and inertial navigation unit, with a distinctive tail section carrying four moving grid fins. Grid fins give large control authority on bulky weapons while keeping surfaces compact for cargo-bay handling. Vlatacom explains that the bomb is deployed from the ramp of a cargo aircraft using a sled kit identified as vSAP-4t. After ejection, a parachute extracts the weapon, reorients it to a vertical attitude, and separates the sled. Once free, the vMOAB-4t transitions to guided flight and rides its GNSS/INS solution to the target. The company lists delivery from typical cargo platforms, citing the C-17 and C-130 architecture as reference aircraft for ramp-drop procedures, an approach that reduces integration demands compared with traditional fast-jet pylons.
The vMOAB-4t’s concept borrows elements from outsized air-delivered munitions long used to clear landing zones, demolish hardened sites, or punish massed forces. Where legacy “dumb” high-capacity bombs depended on release geometry, Vlatacom’s configuration adds guidance, proximity fuzing, and control surfaces to shape effects and raise accuracy. While the company has not disclosed range figures or circular error probable, the grid-fin package and satellite-aided navigation should enable meaningful placement within a target area, especially in scenarios where the aim is to center an airburst over spread-out materiel.
A system like the vMOAB-4t offers commanders a theater-level tool for rapid, high-payoff strikes without expending multiple smaller precision rounds. From a C-130-class aircraft orbiting outside short-range air defenses, crews could deliver the munition via a ramp drop, allowing quick reattack with follow-on loads. Effects would include area denial, runway and taxiway disruption when fuzed low, and the neutralization of radar sites, ammunition depots, or assembly zones when set to burst higher. The use of altitude-proximity fuzing also mitigates the need for perfect point accuracy; even with modest guidance precision, the shock wave and fragmentation envelope can accomplish the mission against soft or semi-hardened targets. Because the munition rides a parachute during extraction and reorientation, it remains compatible with cargo hold workflows and roll-on/roll-off mission kits.
Serbia’s unveiling of a scalable MOAB-style family signals ambitions to broaden its indigenous strike portfolio and to appeal to export customers seeking heavy-blast options outside traditional suppliers. The Balkans defense market has grown more competitive amid Europe’s rearmament cycle and sustained demand generated by high-intensity warfare elsewhere. By positioning a guided, proximity-fuzed heavy bomb that can be launched from widely available cargo aircraft rather than bespoke bombers, Vlatacom is courting militaries that operate C-130-type fleets but lack deep precision-strike inventories.
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Serbia displayed a 4-ton Massive Ordnance Air Blast–style guided bomb, the vMOAB-4T, at the PARTNER 2025 defense exhibition in Belgrade. The air-burst weapon targets soft and semi-fortified sites and is aimed to countries seeking heavy precision strike options deployable from cargo aircraft.
During Partner 2025, Serbia, through Vlatacom Institute, unveiled the vMOAB-4t Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb. The weapon belongs to a new family of very large guided aerial bombs aimed at defeating soft targets and medium-fortified structures with overwhelming shock waves and secondary fragmentation. The 4-ton variant shown on the floor is the lightest member of a series that Vlatacom says will also include 7-ton and 10-ton classes, indicating a deliberate push by Serbia’s industry into the niche of ultra-heavy precision strike munitions.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
Serbia’s Vlatacom vMOAB-4t is a 4-ton guided air blast bomb designed for cargo aircraft delivery, featuring GNSS/INS guidance, grid fins, a massive warhead with airburst proximity fuze, and the ability to devastate soft and semi-fortified targets with overwhelming shock and fragmentation effects (Picture source: Army Recognition Group).
The vMOAB-4t centers on a single-purpose warhead designated vMW-4t, sized to deliver a high-mass blast over a wide footprint. The casing is designed to fragment at detonation, adding a lethal radius beyond the shock front. To maximize terminal effects, the bomb integrates a proximity sensor set from Vlatacom’s vPSK-M23 line, providing altitude-based fuzing so the warhead can burst at the programmed height above the target instead of on contact. This airburst mode is critical for cratering light structures, dismantling trench lines, collapsing above-ground bunkers, and clearing large open areas such as supply parks or air defense revetments.
Guidance is handled by a combined GNSS and inertial navigation unit, with a distinctive tail section carrying four moving grid fins. Grid fins give large control authority on bulky weapons while keeping surfaces compact for cargo-bay handling. Vlatacom explains that the bomb is deployed from the ramp of a cargo aircraft using a sled kit identified as vSAP-4t. After ejection, a parachute extracts the weapon, reorients it to a vertical attitude, and separates the sled. Once free, the vMOAB-4t transitions to guided flight and rides its GNSS/INS solution to the target. The company lists delivery from typical cargo platforms, citing the C-17 and C-130 architecture as reference aircraft for ramp-drop procedures, an approach that reduces integration demands compared with traditional fast-jet pylons.
The vMOAB-4t’s concept borrows elements from outsized air-delivered munitions long used to clear landing zones, demolish hardened sites, or punish massed forces. Where legacy “dumb” high-capacity bombs depended on release geometry, Vlatacom’s configuration adds guidance, proximity fuzing, and control surfaces to shape effects and raise accuracy. While the company has not disclosed range figures or circular error probable, the grid-fin package and satellite-aided navigation should enable meaningful placement within a target area, especially in scenarios where the aim is to center an airburst over spread-out materiel.
A system like the vMOAB-4t offers commanders a theater-level tool for rapid, high-payoff strikes without expending multiple smaller precision rounds. From a C-130-class aircraft orbiting outside short-range air defenses, crews could deliver the munition via a ramp drop, allowing quick reattack with follow-on loads. Effects would include area denial, runway and taxiway disruption when fuzed low, and the neutralization of radar sites, ammunition depots, or assembly zones when set to burst higher. The use of altitude-proximity fuzing also mitigates the need for perfect point accuracy; even with modest guidance precision, the shock wave and fragmentation envelope can accomplish the mission against soft or semi-hardened targets. Because the munition rides a parachute during extraction and reorientation, it remains compatible with cargo hold workflows and roll-on/roll-off mission kits.
Serbia’s unveiling of a scalable MOAB-style family signals ambitions to broaden its indigenous strike portfolio and to appeal to export customers seeking heavy-blast options outside traditional suppliers. The Balkans defense market has grown more competitive amid Europe’s rearmament cycle and sustained demand generated by high-intensity warfare elsewhere. By positioning a guided, proximity-fuzed heavy bomb that can be launched from widely available cargo aircraft rather than bespoke bombers, Vlatacom is courting militaries that operate C-130-type fleets but lack deep precision-strike inventories.
