A B-52 Stratofortress, assigned to the 49th Test and Evaluation Squadron from Barksdale Air Force Base, La., prepares for an operational demonstration of the Quickstrike-ER (QS-ER) Naval mine project at the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, May 28, 219. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Heather Redman)
Kiev forces dropped a bomb with the American-made Joint Direct Attack Munition-Extended Range (JDAM-ER) guidance kit on the area of Kurdyumovka near Artyomovsk city, also known as Bakhmut, in the Donetsk to test the possibility of employing it from Soviet-made fighter jets, Yan Gagin, military-political expert and adviser to the acting Donetsk People’s Republic head, told TASS on March 10.
“These are air-launched bombs. Originally, they were made for NATO aircraft. Ukraine has no such aircraft. We believe that this could have been a combat test with a non-standard carrier. This can apply, in particular, to MiG-29 multirole fighters,” he said.
The United States announced sending “precision aerial munitions” to Kiev forces last December. Earlier this week, Chief of U.S. Air Forces in Europe, General James Hecker, confirmed that JDAM-ER GBU-62 bombs have been already delivered to Ukraine.
The JDAM-ER kit consists of a tail with a GPS-assisted inertial navigation guidance system and a pair of foldable wings that aid the bomb in gliding toward the designated target with a range of up to 80 kilometers.
The only known variant of the GBU-62 appears to be the GBU-62(V)1/B Quickstrike-ER, which combines the JDAM-ER kit with the 2,000-pound [907-kg] class Mk 64 Quickstrike naval mine. The mines, which are based on the Mk 80-series bombs, can’t be used as general-purpose munitions. Ukraine may have received a special variant with that ability.
The Ukrainian Air Force may have integrated the JDAM-ER on its MiG-29 fighter jets, as Gagin has suggested. Other possible options are the Su-27 fighter jets, Su-24 tactical bombers and even Su-25 close air support jets.
Last year, Kiev integrated the U.S.-made AGM-88 HARM anti-radar missiles onto its MiG-29 and Su-27 fighter jets. However, the missile performed poorly.
The U.S. decision to supply the JDAM-ER was meant to provide Kiev forces with a more flexible long-range weapon that packs a heavy punch.
The JDAM-ER bombs are highly effective. However, Ukrainian pilots will have to release them from high altitudes, which would leave them exposed to Russian anti-aircraft fire. In addition, the bombs’ guidance system is vulnerable to electronic warfare.
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