Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky looks on at a press conference for selected media at his official residence the Maryinsky Palace in Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 3, 2022.
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The Armed Forces of Ukraine commanders see the prospects at the front, and are preparing for various options of actions of the terrorist state; they see the intentions of the Russian Federation and “will respond”, said president Zelenskyy after a meeting of the Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief on December 23.
We reported that not Patriot systems but cluster ammunition would be a game-changer in favor of Ukraine, but that is not even discussed yet – so let’s look at the game-changer that actually is coming to Ukraine:
Ukraine’s Fighter Jets Carry Outdated Soviet Munitions. JDAM ‘Smart Bombs’ Could Change That
The Pentagon is preparing to send Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) weapons to arm Ukraine’s air force.
JDAM is a kit that turns ordinary, dumb bombs into satellite-steered weapons with great accuracy.
Despite falling equipment stockpiles, the Pentagon believes JDAM weapons would be less useful in a war against China, making it easier to part ways with them.
The Joint Direct Attack Munition is actually a kit that modifies regular dumb, free-fall bombs into precision weapons.
The U.S. military—including the Air Force, Navy, and Marines—have traditionally relied on the 500-pound MK.-82 bomb, 1,000-pound MK.-83 bomb, and 2,000-pound MK.-84 bomb. These bombs are cheap, but unguided, and although powerful, can easily miss their targets.
The Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) uses navigation data from GPS satellites to slam targets within 15 feet of the aiming point. In use since the late 1990s, the weapon will be somewhat easy for the Pentagon to give up as it lacks the standoff capabilities required for a potential war with China.
According to The Washington Post, the Pentagon is planning to include JDAM guidance kits in an upcoming tranche of aid to Ukraine. The Post quoted multiple senior officials who were familiar with the matter; it’s not clear whether the Biden Administration approved the transfer of JDAMs.
For the past 20+ years, JDAMs have to been used in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and other conflict zones. Their time as the go-to weapon in the U.S. arsenal is coming to an end, however: JDAMs have a limited range—15 miles at most—placing the launching aircraft well within the range of modern air defenses deployed by countries like Russia and China.
The U.S. and its allies typically use the JDAM on American-made fighters and attack aircraft.
A MK.-83 1,000-pound dumb bomb before it is fitted with a JDAM guidance and tail fin kit. U.S. Marines in Australia, 2014.
Ukraine, on the other hand, flies older, Cold War-era Su-27 (NATO code name: “Flanker”) air superiority fighters, MiG-29 “Fulcrum” multi-role fighters, and Su-25 “Frogfoot” fighters whose ordnance rails are fitted to carry Soviet-designed ordnance.
However, an unknown number of Su-27s and MiG-29s have been modified with the American LAU-118 ordnance rails, which attach to BRU-32 (also American) bomb racks. These racks can accommodate JDAMs.
