An undated, unverified video has emerged on X/Twitter that shows a low-flying Ukrainian MiG-29 Fulcrum fighter aircraft delivering two projectiles against a target using a “toss bombing” technique. The post says the weapons are French-made Hammer precision-guided bombs although they could be Joint Direct Attack Munition-Extended Range (JDAM-ER) glide bombs.
The video is edited to show both the moment the aircraft releases the two projectiles and them striking their target. The “blue ticked” milblogger Status-6 (Military & Conflict News) posting on X says the incident has been geo-located with the coordinates: 50.341803,36.293120 which places it close to the Nekhoteevka border crossing which is about 35 kilometers southwest of the city of Belgorod.
Because of the edit, it was not possible for Kyiv Post to verify the date, time and place of the event or even if the “start and finish” represent a single incident. However, it’s still a pretty interesting video, with a cracking soundtrack, that is well worth watching.
The technique employed by the Ukrainian pilot is used when the enemy is anticipated to have deployed long-range surface-to-air missiles (SAM) covering the target area. While this reduces the full 70-kilometer (45-mile) range of the smart bombs when released at high altitude, it helps minimize the length of time the launch aircraft is exposed to enemy radars and reduces the time the SAM crew has to react.
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In the footage, the MiG-29 enters the picture very low before rapidly climbing at a steep 45-degree angle. After around seven seconds the aircraft releases the two bombs before wheeling away in a U-shaped Immelmann turn, and then rapidly descends to low altitude again, the whole exposure time being less than 20 seconds.
As the aircraft withdraws, the projectiles activate their rocket motors which propel them to the higher approach point before they nose-dive into their target.
The French Armement Air-Sol Modulaire (AASM) Hammer, like the JDAM-ER, is actually a conversion kit that transforms a standard “dumb” aircraft bomb into a precision-guided “smart” bomb. It consists of a nose-mounted GPS-assisted inertial navigation system (INS) guidance section and a tail-mounted solid-fuel rocket-powered range-extension kit (REK). It is available for different sizes of bombs but it is probable Ukraine is using the kits for a 250-kilogram (550-pound) class of bomb, the resulting smart version is referred to as the AASM-250.
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