A Pentagon spokesman said in a statement that this is the first time the Ukrainian military will receive JSOW glide bombs as part of the $375 million aid package.
These bombs can be installed on the F-16 fighter, which was acquired by Ukraine. The bombs have retractable wings that help them reach targets up to 70 miles (about 110 km) away. There are several versions of the JSOW, but the ones sent to Ukraine are equipped with cluster munitions, according to the US official.
ABC sources also report that the United States will soon announce more than $2 billion in aid to Ukraine under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI).
Unlike the $350 million package, which will send weapons from existing stockpiles to Ukraine, USAI funds are being used for aid contracts that could take months or years. take to complete. According to the official, the new aid will mainly go to the purchase of weapons for Ukraine.
What is known about JSOW bombs
JSOW can be mistakenly called a missile. In fact, it is a stealth, high-precision glide bomb with a total weight of about 500 kg.
The difference is that a missile can be launched, while an aerial bomb is designed to be dropped from an aircraft. Analysts suggest that the Ukrainian military will be able to use JSOW at a distance of several tens of kilometers due to Russian air defense and superiority in the sky.
The cluster version of the JSOW bomb carries 145 submunitions, weighing 1.5 kg each and having a combined cumulative and fragmentation effect.
2024-09-26 10:02:02
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