Ukrainian MiG-29 and Su-24 can now use French AASM Hammer bombs – Lecorneuil
According to the Minister of the Armed Forces, Sebastian Lecorneu, they are not yet ready to supply Mirage 2000D aircraft, but instead have adapted the bombs to Soviet aircraft of the Ukrainian Air Force.
France has announced the supply of AASM Hammer bombs, also known as A2SM, to Ukraine. Now it has become known that the MiG-29 fighter and Su-24 bomber will be the carriers of the weapons. This is reported by the Opex360 portal.
On February 26, French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu told the National Assembly’s Defense Committee that Soviet MiG-29 and Su-24M aircraft, which are in service with the Ukrainian Air Force, were modernized for AASM Hammer bombs.
“We preferred to invest money and engineering resources in adapting A2SM (air-to-ground) bombs to Soviet Su-24 and MiG-29 aircraft that Ukraine already has, instead of focusing solely on Mirage,” Lecorneu explained.
He also added that there will be no deliveries of Mirage 2000D fighter-bombers to Ukraine at this time. France has a small number of aircraft, and keeping them in good working order would require a lot of effort. Moreover, Paris would like to provide Kyiv with “useful and effective” opportunities. That’s why the Mirage 2000D is not currently on the table. But the Minister of the Armed Forces quoted his president as saying that there were no taboos on supplying weapons to Ukraine.
Features of the AASM Hammer
France has two types of bombs, the Hammer 250 and the Hammer 1000. The former is based on the Mk 82 bomb, and the latter on the BLU109 or Mk 84. In both versions, the bombs are equipped with a tail and nose section with electronics that increase range and accuracy thanks to INS, GPS, GPS Laser or GPS IR guidance systems.
