Australia transferred JDAM-ER to Ukraine

2 November, 2024 An aerial bomb with a JDAM-ER kit. Photo from open sources. Australia has transferred JDAM-ER to Ukraine after they had been decommissioned by the Royal Australian Air Force.

This was reported by Australian Defense, an Australian specialized publication, citing its own sources. The Guided Weapons and Munitions Plan, released on October 30, 2024, states that Australia decommissioned JDAM-ER kits in 2021 along with the retirement of F/A-18A/B Hornet aircraft. The publication, citing its own sources, claims that at least some of these kits were later transferred to Ukraine as part of military assistance.

A bomb with a JDAM-ER kit is suspended from the hardpoint of a Ukrainian Su-27 fighter.

Photo credits: Ukrainian Air Force

However, it is not known when exactly and in what quantity the transfer to Ukraine took place. The use of the JDAM-ER in Ukraine was first reported in March 2023, but the weapon was supplied by the United States. Only in April 2024, Australia announced that it had supplied unspecified air-to-ground munitions to Ukraine.

"We were also able to announce today that we have provided Ukraine with precision air-to-ground munitions," Defense Minister Richard Marles said during a visit to Ukraine in April 2024. In July 2024, the Department of Defense announced a further transfer of unspecified air-to-ground weapons as part of a £250 million aid package.

JDAM-ER

JDAMs are GPS-based equipment kits that transform simple free-fall bombs into all-weather, precision-guided munitions. The kit includes an inertial navigation system and a GPS receiver to improve accuracy, as well as the small wings attached to the middle of the bomb and a tail unit that has the steerable feathers that allow the bomb to adjust its course as it flies toward its target.

The unit contains navigation and other equipment.

JDAM kit

The kit consists of a controllable wing and an inertial control system paired with a GPS receiver. The possible circular deviation in the absence of interference is 11 meters. The ER (Extended Range) version adds a set of wings that allows the bomb to glide to the target, increasing the range of the bomb.

When launched from a high altitude, the range of targets is up to 72.4 kilometers.

A JDAM-ER airborne bomb with open wings in flight.

Photo from open sources.

The JDAM-ER planning kit was developed by the Defense Science and Technology Group (DSTG) in the early 2000s in cooperation with Boeing and Australian Ferra Engineering.

Ferra Engineering currently manufactures the kit under an agreement with Boeing that expires in 2028.