France has shown tests of a 1,000-kilogram bomb on a rail platform

Image source: topwar.ru

The French Ministry of Defense showed footage of the testing conducted in Biscarrosse, at the missile testing and examination center. They show the launch of a 1,000-kilogram bomb on a 2 km long rail platform.

Image source: topwar.ru

The purpose of this test was to simulate the conditions of its discharge from a combat aircraft. Testing made it possible to simulate the flight speed and acceleration characteristic of shooting a bomb at high altitude.

Image source: topwar.ru

Apparently, we are talking about testing the Hammer 1000 product, which is designed to significantly increase the strike power of the country's bomber aviation. Before its appearance, the French defense industry produced only 250-kg Hammer 250 bombs, which have been in operation since 2007.

Hammer 1000 Image Source: topwar.ru

However, in the context of the Ukrainian conflict, the need to strengthen the strike potential of guided bombs has become obvious. At the same time, it is not known how rational the use of French samples is. So, the cost of the Hammer 250 was estimated in 2010 at $ 300 thousand, which was 12 times the price of a comparable American guided bomb JDAM.

In 2017, it was stated that the manufacturer, Safran, plans to reduce the cost to 80,000 euros per unit of weapons. But since then, no progress has been reported in this direction.