France is sending Ukraine extra AASM Hammer bombs — here is what they’ll do

In a boon for Kyiv's offensive capabilities, France has introduced it should manufacture 1,200 AASM Hammer bombs for Ukraine in 2025.

Glide bombs have grow to be an integral a part of each Russia and Ukraine's arsenals, permitting the supply of highly effective payloads for comparatively little value.

The AASM Hammer is certainly one of a number of trendy Western fashions and has already been utilized by Ukraine to nice impact.

"The pilots of the Ukrainian Air Pressure communicate very positively about this weapon," Viktor Kevliuk, a retired army officer and protection knowledgeable, informed the Kyiv Impartial.

What's a glide bomb?

A glide bomb is a typical air-dropped bomb modified with wings and a navigation system that enables it to be launched from a distance moderately than straight over the goal.

They're removed from a brand new know-how and date again to World Warfare II — the German Fritz X bomb was the primary of its kind, a 1,560 kg armor-piercing bomb fitted with a radio receiver and designed to be used towards armored ships.

Different nations developed their very own variations, and so they've been used for many years in conflicts, together with Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

Changing a "dumb bomb," an unguided one, into a wise bomb can value as little as $20,000, making it a less expensive various to cruise and ballistic missiles that value hundreds of thousands of {dollars} to provide.

"They're actually primary," Fabian Hoffmann, a protection knowledgeable and doctoral analysis fellow on the College of Oslo, informed the Kyiv Impartial.

"All you want is the glide system that enables the bomb to fly for far after which combine that with a satellite tv for pc navigation receiver. And that's fairly simple," he added.

Russia started utilizing glide bombs to devastating impact in Ukraine in early 2023 to compensate for dwindling numbers of good munitions and used them towards cities close to the entrance strains, inflicting a whole lot of civilian deaths in 2024.

Russia primarily makes use of Soviet-era FAB-family bombs, upgraded with a Unified Gliding and Correction Module, which incorporates wings that flip out because the weapon is launched by the plane and a satellite tv for pc navigation system.

Regardless of being one of the primitive and quite a few weapons within the Russian Air Pressure's arsenal, Ukraine's Western-supplied air protection methods have been extra geared in direction of defending Russia's subtle and costly cruise and ballistic missiles.

"Glide bombs, not like missiles, wouldn’t have a propulsion system, so that they don't generate a lot warmth and are subsequently largely proof against interception by infrared homing missiles, just like the AIM-9 Sidewinder, or the FIM-92 Stinger," Jacob Parakilas, analysis chief in RAND Europe's Protection, Safety and Justice Analysis Group, informed the Kyiv Impartial earlier this 12 months.

The vary of the weapons additionally permits the Russian fighter jets that launch them to remain out of vary of Ukraine's superior air protection methods such because the U.S.-supplied Patriot.

Ukraine has as an alternative developed digital warfare strategies to jam the navigation methods of glide bombs, one thing it has accomplished to nice impact in latest months.

Ukraine additionally has glide bombs equipped by Western allies, together with the U.S. Floor-Launched Small Diameter Bombs (GLSDB).

These are extra correct and complicated than their Russian counterparts, however Ukraine's arsenal is far more restricted, and Russian forces have developed their very own digital countermeasures designed to particularly disrupt their accuracy, rendering them largely ineffective.

What makes the AASM Hammer bomb so efficient?

The AASM Hammer (Extremely Agile Modular Munition Prolonged Vary) bomb is, in essence, the identical as all different glide bombs — wings connected to a dumb bomb and a navigation system.

Developed by French firm Safran, it has grow to be a weapon of alternative for Ukraine's air power due to its excessive accuracy and resistance to Russian digital warfare, in line with Le Parisien.

Its GPS navigation system might be enhanced with infrared and laser steerage and is particularly designed to perform in "GPS-denied" environments — in different phrases, it's extremely tough to jam.

All of this makes them costlier than the most affordable glide bombs — every unit can value upwards of $300,000, although they're nonetheless cheaper than a Storm Shadow cruise missile (round $1m) for instance, and are simpler to provide.

How is Ukraine utilizing Hammer bombs?

"The AASM Hammer's prolonged vary and excessive accuracy make it appropriate for concentrating on logistics hubs, command posts, and high-value belongings situated past the entrance line," Kevliuk stated.

Safran has tailored the bomb in order that it may be utilized by Ukrainian MiG and Su plane, one thing it did "in lower than 4 months within the fall of 2023," in line with the corporate's CEO Franck Saudo.

The weapon entered service with the French army in 2008 and have become normal for the Dassault Rafale, a French twin-engine, multirole fighter plane. It has since been tailored to be used on different plane, together with the F-16 and Mirage 2000.

France hopes to produce Ukraine with round 50 AASM bombs every month.

They’ve a most vary of round 70 kilometers, which means Ukrainian fighter jets sometimes launch the bombs close to the entrance line. This requires a quick and low method to keep away from Russian radars earlier than banking sharply upwards to supply the bombs with raise.

In accordance with Hoffmann, the weapons vary is considerably restricted by launching on this manner, however as soon as launched, there's little or no its goal can do, even when it manages to see it coming.

"The very nice factor in regards to the munition is that it’s fairly quick in order that makes it tough to intercept for the Russians because it comes down," he informed the Kyiv Impartial.

"It’s also outfitted with a pretty big payload, which implies that it could possibly penetrate fortified buildings, after which because it explodes, it could possibly trigger some actually important harm," he added.

In latest months, Ukraine's armed forces have launched a number of movies exhibiting strikes on Russian forces utilizing Hammer bombs.

They've been used towards command posts, warehouses, and heavy artillery, and in February, a gaggle of Russian troopers sheltering below a street bridge was reportedly worn out utilizing the weapon.

"It is a system for front-line use to actually stress the Russians," Hoffman stated.

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