The U.S. is sending long-range JSOW glide bombs to Ukraine as part of a $375 million military aid package, announced on September 26,
The precision hardware, known as the 70-mile Joint Standoff Weapon, is a 1,100-pound winged bomb that will allow Ukraine to circumvent Russian air defenses when launched at a low altitude, according to TWZ.com.
According to one expert, they are smarter than the glide bombs used by the Russians against Ukraine and they cost $500,000 each. The munitions can be launched from F-16 fighter jets and feature retractable wings that enable targeting at distances over 100 km, according to RBC-Ukraine.
GPS guides the bomb to its target zone, and the infrared imaging sensor used as it homes in on its exact coordinates is impervious to radio-frequency jamming. So it has a stealth-like signature, making it that much harder for Russian air defenses to shoot down, according to TWZ.
A Russian glide bomb being dropped into the Sumy region of Ukraine that borders Kursk on August 9. The US is sending Ukraine glide bombs as part of a new military aid package announced by the Biden administration on Thursday.
Uncredited, Russian Defense Ministry Press Service/Associated Press
In a White House press statement, President Joe Biden said, “To enhance Ukraine’s long-range strike capabilities, I have decided to provide Ukraine with the Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) long-range munition.”
Newsweek reached out to the White House press secretary for comment via email outside of working hours.
Guided bombs or precision munitions date back to World War II.
But the JSOW glide bombs being sent to Ukraine are much more sophisticated. Developed by the U.S. Navy and Air Force and first tested in the 1990s, they were officially put into service in 1999 and adopted by several countries including Australia, Finland, Greece, Poland, Singapore, and Turkey, according to RBC-Ukraine.
There are three variants of the US-developed glide bombs, the AGM-154A, AGM-154B, and the AGM-154C, which have differing munitions.
Newsweek has also reached out to the Main Directorate of Communications of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for comment via email.
Russia has been making use of glide bombs throughout the war and the precision-guided munitions have played a role in some of their territorial gains.
Guy McCardle, managing editor of the Special Operations Forces Report (SOFREP), previously described glide bombs to Newsweek as “pretty ingenious, sci-fi weapons” which Russians used to “put a lot of ordinance downrange with relatively little money and end up doing a lot of physical and psychological damage to their enemy.”
Moscow used two types of glide bombs primarily in eastern Ukraine, and the Kremlin’s version of glide bombs were kits added to older Soviet-era unguided high-explosive bombs.
Aviation expert Valerii Romanenko spoke to RBC about the advantages of the US-made glide bombs and described them as a response to Russian KABS, also known as aerial-guided bombs. He said, “Although they have a standard caliber, the Russians possess a large number of different KABs. JSOWs are ‘smarter’ cruise bombs than the Russian ones.”
Romanenko added: “However, they are also more complex and very expensive, costing up to $500,000. In comparison to JDAM-ERs (which are already used by Ukrainian aviation), they have a shorter range but are ten times more expensive.”
The US military aid package will also include High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), Javelin and other antiarmor systems, Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles, bridging systems, and other military supplies, according to The Associated Press.
“Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked American partners for the Patriot and other air defense systems, interceptor missiles, long-range missiles, and air-to-ground munitions. He also expressed gratitude for the decision to expand the training program for a greater number of pilots on F-16s,” according to the RBC.
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