What can the AGM-154 JSOW bomb for 1.3 million dollars, which was bought by Taiwan, do?
The AGM-154 JSOW is a precision-guided, planning, but only bomb with a range of up to 130 km.
The US Department of Defense has released a list of arms production contracts under which Raytheon has received an order to produce AGM-154 JSOW Block III C precision-guided cruise missiles for Taiwan.
It should be noted that according to the American arms sales procedure, a country cannot directly order weapons from a manufacturer, so an intergovernmental contract is concluded, and the US defense department orders weapons from its manufacturers.
And thanks to this announcement, the estimated price for the AGM-154 Block III C became known, as only 50 of these bombs are to be produced, and the order value is fixed at $68.42 million, with the order completion date of March 2028. That is, one AGM-154 Block IIIC costs $1.36 million per unit.
At this price, the AGM-154 Block III C is not a long-range cruise missile, but a planning bomb, albeit with a sophisticated guidance system and stealth technology.
The AGM-154 JSOW bomb weighs about 490 kg, of which the penetrating warhead (in the Block III C version) accounts for 225 kg in a two-stage design.
The satellite and inertial navigation system is responsible for targeting on the marching section, and the thermal imaging head is responsible for the final targeting. That is, technically, it is almost like a cruise missile, but only a bomb with a range of 130 km from high-altitude high-speed flight, and 22 km when dropped from a low altitude.
The AGM-154 JSOW is carried by tactical aircraft: F/A-18, F-16, F-15E and F-35A, as well as the Swedish JAS 39 Gripen, and B-52, B-1 and B-2 strategic bombers. In the case of Taiwan, the carrier of this bomb is the F-16V.
In the end, current prices for weapons never cease to amaze, so in terms of what else can be bought for $1.3 million, we can mention the quite current price of the Serval armored vehicle in France, or the Australian Bushmaster PMV.
