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The United States of America has allocated $7.9 billion in defense aid to Ukraine. The record package includes Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) cruise bombs. The United States will transfer them to Ukraine for the first time, FREEDOM reports.
Almost $2.5 billion of the US aid package will go toward purchasing weapons from international companies. The funds are planned to be spent in the coming months. They will be spent on an additional Patriot air defense battery, other air defense systems, drones, armored personnel carriers, ammunition, and other weapons, including JSOW cruise bombs. $375 million has been allocated for them.
“I am announcing increased security assistance for Ukraine and a number of additional actions that will help Ukraine win this war. To enhance Ukraine’s ability to strike at long distances, I have decided to provide Ukraine with the Joint Standoff Weapon long-range munition,” said US President Joe Biden, whose statement was published on the White House website.
AGM-154 JSOW is designed for use against soft targets, such as lightly armored vehicles and trucks, aircraft at airfields, and anti-aircraft missile systems. According to military experts, the range of the aerial bombs will allow the Armed Forces of Ukraine to effectively destroy Russian frontline ammunition and fuel depots, strike at enemy positions, communication nodes, and manpower.
“The advantages of the AGM 154 JSOW include high guidance accuracy, especially when it comes to geolocated static targets. The munition also has an infrared homing head that is invulnerable to radio frequency interference. In addition, this gliding bomb is barely noticeable to air defense systems, so it is almost impossible to shoot down. For an analogue of the Russian KAB – a guided aerial bomb – the AGM-154 JSOW is a fairly expensive munition. Depending on the modification, its price is $300,000 and significantly higher,” writes “ArmіyaInform”.
Given the cost, the number of JSOWs that the US can transfer to Ukraine cannot be proportionate in number to the Russian KABs, the publication notes. Not to mention that Washington has a limited number of aerial bombs. JSOW purchases were stopped in 2015.
“According to the data, as of 2015, 2,517 JSOW units were produced, of which 1,983 for the US Navy and 523 for the Air Force, and the total production plan for these munitions was 3,334 units. Also, the number of JSOWs that were used in combat, primarily during the war in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as exercises, should be subtracted from this figure. It is estimated that about 400 JSOWs were used in total. Thus, it can be assumed that there may be more than 2,000 JSOW units in the United States,” the Defense Express publication says.
The so-called American KABs of the Ukrainian Armed Forces will be launched from F-16 fighters. The range of the JSOW will allow Ukrainian pilots to stay at a safe distance from the front line, out of reach of Russian air defense.
And there will be more pilots trained on the F-16 next year. US President Joe Biden instructed the Pentagon to expand the training program by 18 pilots. Earlier in September, it became known that the first group of Ukrainian pilots began theoretical training on F-16 fighters in Romania, and could move on to practical training in the next few months.
Read also: Zelenskyy presented Biden with a plan for victory
Recall that, according to General of the Ukrainian Army, former head of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine Mykola Malomuzh, security assistance for Ukraine worth almost $8 billion, announced by US President Joe Biden, will strengthen the country’s defense along the front line, in hot spots, and will make it possible to more effectively prepare offensive operations. Obviously, the US President appreciated the importance of Ukrainian initiatives regarding future active actions on the battlefield, which will require special forces and resources.
