MiG-29 Strikes Russian Drone Command Post in Zaporizhzhia Region

A Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter aircraft executed two strikes in the Zaporizhzhia region, destroying a hangar containing a large stockpile of Russian ammunition and fuel, as well as a building housing drone operators.

According to the Ukrainian Air Force Command, Western precision-guided aerial bombs were used in the operation.

“We thank our partners for the precise and effective tools,” the Command stated.
The destroyed targets were located near the settlement of Novozlatopil in the Zaporizhzhia region.

Western partners provided the Ukrainian Air Force with several modern precision-guided aerial bombs and adapted them for use on Soviet-era fighter jets.

In particular, American bombs equipped with JDAM-ER kits are being actively used. These kits utilize GPS technology to convert unguided aerial bombs into all-weather precision-guided munitions.

The JDAM-ER kit includes an inertial navigation system, a GPS receiver to enhance accuracy, a mid-body wing kit, and a tail section with steerable fins, allowing the bomb’s trajectory to be adjusted during flight toward the target.

The use of JDAM-ER in Ukraine was first reported in March 2023, when the United States supplied these munitions. In April 2024, Australia also announced the transfer of an unspecified number of air-to-ground bombs to Ukraine.

One of the most actively used strike weapons in Ukrainian tactical aviation today are the French high-precision AASM bombs.

Like the JDAM, the French AASM kits upgrade standard Western unguided bombs by giving them precision-guided capabilities. However, the AASM has an advantage — a built-in rocket motor that significantly extends its range: from 15 km when dropped at low altitude to up to 70 km from high altitude.

These munitions have two main versions: the Hammer-250, designed for 227-kg Mk.82 bombs, and the Hammer-1000, for 908-kg Mk.84 bombs.

It took only four months for the French company Safran, which develops the AASM, to adapt these kits for Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter aircraft.