Ukrainian attack aircraft Su-25 were adapted for the use of French high-precision AASM HAMMER aerial bombs. This weapon is actively and successfully used to launch strikes on the positions of the occupiers.
Serhiy Golubtsov, Chief of Aviation of the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, stated this in an interview with “Donbas Realia”.
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According to him, at the beginning of the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war, our country had certain reserves of unguided aviation weapons for Su-25 attack aircraft. However, during the first year of active hostilities, these reserves were exhausted. Ukraine receives new AASM HAMMER high-precision air bombs as part of military aid from France.
“Our Su-25 aircraft are also being modernized, and now they can already use bombs that have a jet engine. They are called HAMMER, we use them, and very successfully”, — emphasized Golubtsov.
It is noted that in order to continue the use of attack aircraft of the Armed Forces, in particular, the United States of America provided Kyiv with Zuni air-to-air missiles, which were available in American warehouses. Such unguided air-to-ground missiles are used to destroy ground targets, fortifications, and convoys of military equipment. However, the stocks of such missiles have run out, and the resumption of production is impractical, because Western aviation is actively switching to high-precision weapons.
Precisely in order to keep the Su-25 in service, the Ukrainian military adapted them for use of French aerial bombs. MiG-29 fighters were also adapted to use this type of weaponry. In particular, it is planned to integrate AASM HAMMER aerial bombs on future Ukrainian multipurpose F-16 fighters.
It should be added that AASM is a kit for unmanned aerial vehicles aerial bomb, which turns them into high-precision ones. Such a kit consists of a front part with a guidance system and flaps and a rear part with a rocket accelerator designed to increase the flight range of an aerial bomb.