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What Are JDAMs? And What Will They Do For Ukraine? [1]
['John Ismay', 'More About John Ismay']
Date: 2022-12-23
With the right kind of equipment, Ukrainian jets could potentially carry multiple JDAMs on a single mission, just like U.S. and NATO warplanes do.
What are these weapons?
Technically speaking, JDAM refers to a kit that is bolted onto the U.S. military’s general purpose Mark-80-series bomb and turns it into a GPS-guided weapon.
The Mark-80 warhead, which was developed soon after World War II, was designed to be easily fitted with a variety of tail fins and fuzes for use in a range of situations. Over decades, different attachments have been fielded — for low-level bombing, and to turn them into land and sea mines, and finally into various types of guided weapons.
It typically comes in three sizes ranging from 500 to 2,000 pounds. However, which model or models will be provided to Ukraine is unclear.
Since their first combat use in the late 1990s, JDAMs have been improved and new capabilities have been added. They can work with a variety of fuzes that control whether they explode above the ground, on the surface or after burrowing into the ground. One updated kit adds a pair of wings that open after the bomb is dropped, allowing it to fly more than 40 miles to a target.
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[1] Url:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/23/us/politics/ukraine-weapons-russia.html
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