United to win: Britain to provide Ukraine with laser-guided air bombs for the first time in military aid package
Photo: Ministry of Defense of the UK
Britain is planning to provide Ukraine with Paveway IV laser-guided aerial bombs as part of their upcoming package of military assistance.
The Telegraph reports this.
Paveway IVs are 500-pound aerial bombs equipped with a high-explosive warhead and laser targeting system. The British Air Force recently utilized these weapons for the first time in Afghanistan.
Bombs can be installed both on American-made F-16 fighter jets, which are due to arrive in Ukraine this year and on old Soviet-era aircraft.
The exact number of aerial bombs planned to be transferred has not yet been disclosed.
The newspaper notes that the decision came after Joe Biden, the US president, promised to send significant support to Kyiv, including beefing up air defenses, after the United States Congress passed a $61 billion aid package after months of a problematic stalemate.
For reference:
Paveway IV is the most modern version of the aerial bomb in the Paveway family. The projectile has a two-mode navigation system: satellite GPS or inertial INS. It is based on a modified Mk 82 aerial bomb with increased penetration.
The Paveway IV entered service with the Royal Air Force in 2008. The bomb weighs 230 kg. In any navigation mode, a laser pointer is used to aim at the target.
Currently, fighters carry the aerial bomb: Eurofighter Typhoon, F-35, Panavia Tornado, and Harrier II.
It is unclear which aircraft from the Ukrainian Air Force will carry aerial bombs. However, Paveway IV resembles the American JDAM and the French Hammer in terms of characteristics. In both instances, the bombs were incorporated into Su-27 and MiG-29 fighter jets.
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