The U.S. wants to give Ukraine JDAM kits to turn dumb bombs into all-weather GPS-guided munitions

The Ukrainian Armed Forces will soon be able to "raise the intelligence" of their bombs. The Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) kits will help them do this.

Here's What We Know

The American edition of The Washington Post reports that US authorities want to transfer JDAM equipment needed to transform "dumb" bombs into "smart" munitions to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

The JDAM kit, developed by Boeing at the end of the last century, consists of wings and a tail unit. The wings are attached to the center section of the free-fall bomb. The tail unit has a fin that is responsible for maneuvering in flight. An inertial system and GPS are used for targeting. Navigation equipment is located in the JDAM tail unit.

The technology is used for aerial bombs up to 900 kg, which are used by bombers and fighters. JDAM kits are compatible with A-10 Thunderbolt II, B-1 Lancer, B-2 Spirit, B-52 Stratofortress, F-15E Strike Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon, F-18 Hornet / Super Hornet, F-22 Raptor, F-35 Lightning II.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces do not have such aircrafts. Also drones MQ-9 Reaper and Northrop Grumman X-47B can launch "smart" bombs, but Ukraine also did not receive them. But we should not forget that the AFU is actively using AGM-88 HARM anti-radar missiles from Soviet fighter jets, which originally did not have such a capability.

Source: The Washington Post
Images: Defense News, Military, New Atlas