Ukrainian Air Force leverages French tech in strategic bombings
The remnants of the Ukrainian air force are conducting operations against the Russians, using advanced Western armaments. One of the most useful tools for Ukraine is the French AASM Hammer air bombs. Here we present their capabilities.
AASM Hammer bombs are most often dropped from MiG-29 aircraft, although they have also been used on Su-27 and Su-25 aircraft. Below, you can see the moment an AASM Hammer bomb is dropped and the effects of the attack on a Russian command post in the village of Lubymivka in the Kherson region.
MiG-29 aircraft and French AASM Hammer bombs — a deadly tandem
Currently, Ukrainians have a limited number of newly acquired F-16 aircraft and the remnants of the MiG-29 fleet, which has been rejuvenated with models donated by Poland and Slovakia. Consequently, these are the most frequently used aircraft for combat missions.
The Ukrainians prefer using American GBU-39 SDB bombs or the French AASM Hammer bombs. Conceptually, these are glide bombs similar to the American JDAM-ER, but with distinct French enhancements.
Besides adding a GPS guidance module with a new tail section and foldable wings to the standard Mk 82/83/84 bombs weighing approximately 227, 454, and 907 kilograms, the French have also added a rocket booster. This enables the AASM Hammer bomb to be effectively used during low-altitude flights, which is not feasible with JDAMs and similar solutions.
Normally, a glide bomb dropped under such conditions would have a range of only a few kilometres. However, with the French solution, the range is about 16 kilometres. This means the aircraft can attack targets protected by systems like Pantsir-S1 from beyond their range.
This is a major advantage because the declared range of over 64 kilometres for JDAM-ER glide bombs is achievable when dropped from over 10 kilometres in altitude, and at such a height, the aircraft is clearly visible to radar systems like the S-300/400. Flying at a low altitude is the only form of defence due to the radar horizon, which reduces ground radar detection range to about 40 kilometres.
Pinpoint precision in all conditions — A wide selection of guidance methods
The French bombs offer accuracy up to 1 metre, making them effective even against moving targets. Several guidance methods, unavailable to many foreign competitors, facilitate this precision.
The basic guidance module relies on inertial and satellite navigation, targeting only stationary targets. This is the cheapest option, but it is vulnerable to precision degradation due to electronic warfare systems. However, for a 907-kilogram bomb, a deviation of several metres is less critical than for smaller calibres.
Two other guidance options are insensitive to jammers. The first uses classic bomb homing on a reflected laser beam, which requires illuminating the target from an aircraft or drone until impact, even for moving targets.
The best but most expensive option is the second guidance method, using an optoelectronic head that detects the thermal image of the target. The system independently searches for an object matching preloaded data and then attacks, allowing for the "fire and forget" capability. This lets pilots evacuate from dangerous areas immediately after releasing the bomb. These specialized bombs are the only such armaments in the Ukrainian air force’s arsenal and have repeatedly proven their effectiveness.
