French power in Ukrainian skies: first photo of MiG-29 with AASM Hammer bomb under wing
Could significant modifications have been required to adapt, and what kind of bomb is it?
A photo of a Ukrainian Air Force MiG-29 fighter jet with an AASM Hammer-250 guided missile received from France on a pylon under the left wing has been released to the public. This is the first photo of a MiG-29 in service with a French guided bomb, and it was taken during the aircraft’s flight.
It is interesting that in addition to the guided bomb, the aircraft also carries a suspended fuel tank, and there is no other load. In addition, it was also reported that Su-24Ms in the Ukrainian Armed Forces were also modernized for French Hammer bombs.
If you look closely at the above photo, you will see that the image of the MiG-29 with the AASM Hammer-250 is visually similar to the image of the MiG-29 with the mysterious pylons that was first “spotted” in June of 2013.
As it became clear later, the photo with the mysterious pylons showed an airplane adapted for the use of American JDAM-ERs. And a little later, in August 2023, one of the official videos of the Air Force provided additional details on how our MiG-29s were adapted for JDAM-ER guided bombs.
Based on this, we can only assume that no significant modifications were required to adapt our MiG-29s to the French AASM Hammer, relative to the JDAM-ER configuration. But perhaps over time, additional data will emerge that will significantly complement the picture here. It should be recalled that France announced its decision to provide Ukraine with AASM Hammer guided bombs in January 2024, and at that time it was about 600 bombs per year, or 50 units per month.
The first use of the AASM Hammer was recorded in early March 2024, when the occupiers were targeted at Avdiivka Coke. Also, it is likely that this type of guided aerial bomb was used to strike the command post of the racists on the ship that washed ashore in the Left Bank Kherson region.
