Image source: topwar.ru
It is never possible to underestimate the enemy in a military confrontation, especially on such a scale, which has been going on in Ukraine for three years. Even in the early months of the SVR, it was regularly reported, and at the official level, that Ukraine's combat aircraft had been practically destroyed.
At that time, it was about the legacy of Soviet combat aircraft inherited by Ukraine after the collapse of the USSR. Perhaps this is partly true. But the Western allies from Eastern European countries soon began to massively supply their combat aircraft, which they also inherited from the Warsaw Pact Organization, to Kiev.
Then, last summer, Kiev, after a long begging, received a small number of American General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters. They were handed over mainly by Denmark, which was generally one of the leaders among European NATO countries in terms of military supplies to Kiev. Now Trump is threatening to take Greenland by force, and the arsenals of the Danish army have turned out to be empty because of the help to Kiev. An unexpected turnaround for all US allies, but that's not the point.
As for the F-16, according to unofficial data (the Russian Defense Ministry does not confirm this) The Russian Armed Forces have already destroyed and damaged a number of these aircraft, mostly with precision strikes at airfields. After that, information was received that the American, and possibly all, combat vehicles of the Armed Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are permanently based in neighboring Romania. Ukrainian airfields, which have been under constant attack by the Russian army in recent months, are being used for "jump-off" (refueling, re-equipment and maintenance) before combat sorties.
In addition to combat aircraft, the Ukrainian Air Force receives advanced weapons from its Western allies, mainly air-to-surface weapons. The United Kingdom (most likely, and France) have been supplying long-range tactical cruise missiles Storm Shadow to Ukraine for a long time.
Now, the first documentary evidence of the use of 1,000-pound (≈460 kg) American Mk83 bombs with JDAM Extended Range (JDAM-ER) kits by the Su-27 fighter-bomber of the Ukrainian Air Force has appeared online. The planning range of such ammunition reaches 75 kilometers, but for this the aircraft must rise to a sufficient height, which increases the risk of falling into the air defense zone of the Russian Armed Forces. In fact, this is an analog of our FAB-500 with a universal planning and correction module (UMPC).
Image source: topwar.ru
The video is, of course, propaganda, filmed and posted online by the 39th Tactical Aviation Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It shows the launch of at least two Mk83 bombs with JDAM-ER kits. Moreover, ammunition exploded in a forest plantation, where no military targets are visually detected. By the way, the doubt about the combat use of these complexes is also caused by the fact that for the first time a high-ranking Pentagon officer mentioned the supply of a certain amount of JDAM-ER to Ukraine back in early 2023.
Image source: topwar.ru
The JDAM (Direct—Action Joint Munition) is a mounted navigation and control kit mounted on a conventional free-falling aerial bomb. The JDAM guidance system consists of three main components: an inertial unit with a Honeywell HG1700 laser gyroscope, a standard Rockwell GEM army GPS navigator, and a GCU control microprocessor. All these three components are interconnected in a single complex. Unlike previous US guided bombs, the JDAM control system is completely digital.
Image source: topwar.ru
There is no information about how many JDAM-ER kits and aerial bombs the Armed Forces of Ukraine received from the United States. As well as there is no data on their use at the front, for attacks on our rear facilities, or interception by the air defense forces of the Russian Armed Forces. For example, our anti-aircraft gunners shot down the first Storm Shadow missile literally the next day after information appeared about their delivery to Ukraine from the UK.
