Pro-Russian authorities in Donbas say Ukraine has started using JDAM smart bombs in Bakhmut.
In an interview with Tass news agency on March 10, adviser to the leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) Yan Gagin revealed that the Ukrainian army dropped a JDAM smart bomb on an area near the fire pan. Bakhmut in Donbas.
This is considered the beginning of the use of this smart weapon to relieve the Ukrainian defense forces in Bakhmut.
“That bomb was launched from the air. Initially, this bomb was made for NATO warplanes, but Ukraine does not have these planes. I think Ukraine has tested JDAR bombing from machines. Soviet aircraft like the MiG-29,” Gavin said.
In December 2022, in order to strengthen the ground attack and ground support capabilities of the Ukrainian Air Force, the Pentagon decided to transfer to Kyiv a number of JDAM smart bombs.
Considered to be more accurate than most bombs in the Russian army, this weapon is expected to significantly increase the capacity of the Ukrainian Air Force and reduce its overwhelming firepower. Russia in the past. However, according to some experts, putting the JDAM smart bomb on duty will face many difficulties, especially due to the incompatibility between US weapons and Ukraine’s Soviet-made fighters.
According to Defense Express, there are two main problems that the Ukrainian military needs to solve, including how to mount JDAM bombs on aircraft built in the Soviet era and the ability to integrate guidance systems for this type of bomb.
For the first issue, the Ukrainian military confirmed that it will use a special type of suspension bridge designed by US Army engineers at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. Called LAU-118/A, this is a smart suspension bridge, that allows Western weapons to be mounted on Soviet-made fighters. Previously, this type of suspension bridge was used with great success in integrating AGM-88 HARM anti-radar missiles on MiG-29S fighters.
Regarding the second issue, Defense Express said that automatic navigation software was created by the US military about 10 years ago, allowing the integration of US smart weapons on foreign-made aircraft. Along with the addition of a personal computer and a global satellite navigation device, this software will help guide the JDAM bomb to the enemy’s target accurately. This software will also be provided by the US to the Ukrainian military.
