Open-source military intelligence group Ukraine Weapons Tracker posted a video on Tuesday that may have shown the first use in Ukraine of a U.S.-made bomb equipped with JDAM-ER kits. The video showed action in Bakhmut, in the Donetsk Oblast.
“Four GBU-62 were dropped on what is claimed to be an ammo storage point and Russian military staging area,” @UAWeapons said in a post to Twitter.
In the 24-second video, several bombs can be seen striking an already damaged building.
The clip was recorded by an overhead drone that also provided a view of the devastation to Bakhmut – making clear why the fighting there has evoked comparisons to the Battle of Stalingrad.
Guided Bombs
Earlier this year, the United States said that it would provide Ukraine with the long-range GPS-guided bomb made by Boeing as part of a $1.85 billion military aid package.
It is important to note that JDAM is not a stand-alone weapon — it is instead a bolt-on guidance package. The JDAM — or Joint Direct Attack Munition — is a guidance kit that can convert an unguided bomb into an all-weather, precision-guided munition. Each JDAM-equipped bomb uses an integrated inertial guidance system that is coupled to a GPS receiver.
The JDAM-ER extended range variant can strike targets up to 45 miles away after it is launched from an aircraft.
JDAM kits were first developed in the late 1990s and are currently employed by the U.S. Air Force and Navy, as well as the militaries of 26 other nations around the world. The JDAM-ER was jointly developed by Boeing and Australia’s Defence Science and Technology Organisation. It entered service with the Royal Australian Air Force in 2015.
According to Airforce-Technology.com, the munitions registered a system reliability of 95% with a 9.6m accuracy rate during testing, which was carried out on more than 450 JDAMs.
Operations in Ukraine
The Drive reported in March that an initial batch of these weapons had been deployed to Ukraine. This delivery was relatively small, but the report added that “they could already present real problems for Russia’s military.”
The Kremlin certainly has numerical superiority in everything from ground troops to tanks and other vehicles, but Russia has been increasingly forced to rely on antiquated equipment. Likewise, its troops are often rushed to the frontlines, while Kyiv’s forces are being trained in trench warfare in the UK and tank operations in Poland. More importantly, the West has provided Ukraine with advanced weapons that have greater range and accuracy.
Kyiv will have to make every shot count with the JDAM-ERs, but like the M982 Excalibur round for the M777 155mm howitzer, it is proving ideal for striking high-value targets and making sure a second round or bomb isn’t needed.
#Ukraine: Presumably one of the first videos showing US-delivered ???????? guided bombs with JDAM-ER kits in action in Bakhmut, #Donetsk Oblast.
Four GBU-62 were dropped on what is claimed to be an ammo storage point and Russian military staging area. pic.twitter.com/xExafWGAx0
— ???????? Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) April 25, 2023
Author Experience and Expertise
A Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.
