The USA to provide seekers for Ukraine’s JDAM-ER to defeat electronic warfare systems

The United States has ordered seekers that will enable U.S. JDAM-ER bombs from Ukraine to defeat electronic warfare systems.

The US Air Force has signed a contract with Scientific Applications and Research Associates for the acquisition of Home-on GPS seekers.

The JDAM-ER kits, which are mounted on bombs, will be equipped with these seekers.

Plans to provide Ukraine with JDAM-ERs with new seekers arose as Western precision bombs reportedly suffer from Russian GPS jamming systems.

The Home-on GPS seeker should enable Ukrainian JDАM-ERs to defeat GPS jammers.

Essentially, this will turn one of the weapons most affected by this counter into a weapon used to directly engage it.

This follows growing reports that Russian jamming is seriously reducing the effectiveness of GPS-guided munitions supplied by allies, including JDAM-ER.

Scientific Applications and Research Associates Inc., was awarded a $23 million contract for the acquisition of Home-on GPS Jam seekers. This contract provides for the integration of the extended range seekers into existing Joint Direct Attack Munition wing kits.

JDAM-ERs have been used in Ukraine since at least March 2023. Soviet-era MiG-29 and Su-27 fighter aircraft are used to operate these weapons.

Details about the seeker itself are limited, but Scientific Applications and Research Associates has been developing similar capabilities for integration into various precision munitions for many years.

“If the enemy tries to complicate the battlefield with electronic warfare, HOJ SARA seekers can allow a guided bomb or missile to hit an obstacle,” the company said of the system.

HOJ is compact enough to be 10 times cheaper than its predecessors, and its component base allows it to be easily integrated into the guidance system of any existing precision-guided munition.