The Americans are supplying the Ukrainians with long-range weapons against Vladimir Putin’s army. The JSOW glide bomb for F-16 fighter jets has a lot to offer.
Kiev – Ukraine is receiving long-range weapons from the USA, which Kiev has stubbornly requested from Washington in order to be able to defend itself more effectively against the insidious attack from Russia.
Weapons for Ukraine: USA supplies Kyiv with long-range glide bombs
The Americans will provide the Ukrainian air force with long-range JSOW glide bombs. We are specifically talking about the Raytheon RTX AGM-154 Joint Stand-Off Weapon (JSOW). The glide bombs have a massive weight of almost 1,000 pounds (around 450 kilograms) and a maximum range of 116 kilometers when dropped at high altitude.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whom Republican Donald Trump recently criticized harshly, has repeatedly asked Western partners for the delivery of such long-range weapons in recent months. Now US President Joe Biden has announced the deployment of massive bombs in the Ukraine war.
JSOW glide bomb: Ukraine receives a long-range weapon from the USA
It is also likely to be a signal to the Moscow regime of Kremlin autocrat Vladimir Putin, who has repeatedly warned against such deliveries with renewed threats to the West, while the losses among Russian soldiers are devastating. “In order to improve Ukraine’s long-range strike capabilities, I have decided to equip Ukraine with the Joint Standoff Weapon long-range ammunition,” US President Biden said on Thursday (September 26) during a meeting with Zelensky at the White House.
The Raytheon RTX AGM-154 Joint Stand-Off Weapon, as it has the cumbersome technical name, is fired from F-16 fighter jets. Of the fighter aircraft, the Ukrainians have, according to the American military science magazine Jane’s received ten pieces so far. The Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Norway want to provide a total of 79 F-16 fighter jets from the ranks of the NATO defense alliance, but according to various media reports, this will still take some time.
Ukraine’s losses: AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon is intended to reduce them
The 4.10 meter long AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon with a diameter of 33 centimeters was first put into service with the US Air Force in 1998. The guided glide bomb, controlled with GPS and infrared, was specially developed for operational scenarios so that it can be dropped beyond the range of conventional air defense systems. At best, this is intended to minimize losses, which makes the JOSW all the more valuable for Kiev’s armed forces in the bloody Ukrainian war.
Before launch, the glide bomb is assigned a target either via a predetermined waypoint or through a point marked by a targeting pod. It glides to the marked target using two wings that extend for additional lift, which the bomb then detects using its infrared sensors for heat sources. It is intended to be used against armored personnel carriers, aircraft hangars or against surface-to-air missile positions, such as those used by the Russians in the form of huge trucks for their feared Iskander-M missiles.
Weapons in the Ukraine War: Guided gliding bomb also against targets in Russia?
Biden left unmentioned Jane’s in this context, whether the JSOW glide bombs may explicitly be used against military targets in Russia. That’s exactly what Zelensky had demanded. Because: The infamous Iskander-M are launched from Russian soil. And there are the airfields of Putin’s MiG and Sukhoi squadrons, which treacherously fire Russian cruise missiles at Ukrainian cities. (pm)
#Ukraines #F16 #fighter #jets #President #releases #JSOW #longrange #weapon