French bombs boost Ukrainian airstrikes in Kursk region
For peace negotiations, Ukrainians are trying to maintain control over the Kursk region, while the Russians have deployed significant forces there to reclaim territory. This area appears important enough for Ukrainians to utilize the remnants of their air force capabilities. Here's an overview of what the Ukrainians have attacked with.
Ukraine currently retains remnants of its air force. Aside from a few F-16s, the MiG-29 aircraft are in the best condition. Additionally, several Su-27, Su-24, and assault Su-25 aircraft remain operational. However, the overall situation is challenging due to losses, wear, and a shortage of available spare parts.
It's worth noting that Ukraine's fleet of MiGs has been strengthened by more than 20 units from Poland and Slovakia, with a repair base established in Poland and Bulgaria. Consequently, these machines handle most of the combat missions.
Below you can see footage of a pair of AASM Hammer guided bombs striking two buildings in the Kursk region. The execution of the airstrike implies a significant target, such as a field command centre or a location where Russian drone operators are based.
Unique aerial bomb from France
Ukrainians are regularly receiving small batches of AASM Hammer (Armament Air-Sol Modulaire, Highly Agile Modular Munition Extended Range) guided bombs from France, which have proven more effective in their operational conditions than the American JDAM-ER.
AASM Hammer bombs are modular, added to standard unguided bombs from the Mk family. Currently, Safran produces kits for the MK82 and 84 bombs weighing approximately 230 kg and 910 kg, respectively, but there were plans for a model for the 455-kg Mk83.
In addition to the standard module with a guidance system, flight correction, and folding wings, the French concept also involved adding a solid-fuel rocket motor. This allows the bomb to accelerate after being dropped even at low altitudes, increasing its range in such conditions up to 14 kilometres.
This is extremely useful because flying at low altitudes due to the radar horizon ensures protection against medium-range anti-aircraft systems, reducing radar detection to 50 kilometres or less. Systems like the Pantsir-S1 or the Tor are the main threats, with a range of 14 kilometres or less. In contrast, when dropped from a high altitude, the range of the AASM Hammer glide bombs is said to exceed 69 kilometres.
Moreover, French bombs, when equipped with the appropriate guidance head (which are interchangeable), are resistant to electronic warfare systems that reduce hit precision. The basic option is the classic tandem of INS and GPS navigation susceptible to interference, but heads guided by a reflected laser beam or with a thermal imaging camera that sees a thermal image of the target are available.
The latter two offer, in practice, pinpoint hit precision (about 1 to 3 metres) under all conditions, even on a moving target. The laser beam-guided head is an older solution, requiring the target to be illuminated by a plane or, for instance, a drone's laser designator until hit.
The optoelectronic head, on the other hand, is the latest and most expensive solution of the "fire and forget" type. It sees the target's thermal image and independently tracks it thanks to onboard electronics and machine learning algorithms.
