US to announce provision of Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine this week – CNN

The munitions are to be included in the new security aid package to Ukraine as soon as this week, the sources said. The precision bombs could help Ukraine attack fixed Russian defensive lines or other large targets. But they need to be dropped from fighter jets, which remains a significant challenge because of Russia’s own air defenses.

The Ukrainian military would also need to find a way to target and launch JDAMs from Soviet-era aircraft, much as they did with U.S.-made HARM anti-radar missiles earlier this year.

The kits can be connected to bombs of different weights and sizes, ranging from a 500-pound bomb to one that is 2,000 pounds. The munitions then use a combination of GPS and an inertial guidance system to strike a target with precision. An additional system can also give the bomb laser guidance to strike a moving target. The range of the bombs is approximately 15 miles (25 kilometers).

The U.S. used JDAMs extensively in Iraq and Afghanistan. The kits have been exported to more than two dozen other countries, according to Boeing, the manufacturer of the kits. To date, more than 400,000 kits have been produced at a cost of approximately $22,000 per kit.

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