Ukraine conflict: US approves extended range JDAMs for Ukraine
An artist's rendering of a JDAM-ER wing kit fitted to a 2,000 lb MK 84 general purpose bomb. (Boeing)
The US government has approved the sale to Ukraine of Boeing GBU-62 Joint Direct Attack Munition Extended Range (JDAM-ER) precision-guided bombs.
Announced by the Department of State on 5 May 2026, the approval covers 1,200 KMU-572 and 332 KMU-556 JDAM tail kits, as well as related equipment and support, for an estimated USD373.6 million. The KMU-572 kit is attached to 500lb MK 82 general purpose bombs (GPBs), with the KMU-556 for 2,000 lb MK 84 GPBs.
“The proposed sale will improve Ukraine's capability to meet current and future threats by further equipping it to conduct self-defence and regional security missions with a more robust air defence capability,” the Department of State said.
The JDAM is a low-cost guidance kit that converts existing unguided free-fall bombs into accurately guided ‘smart' weapons. The JDAM kit consists of a tail section that contains GPS/INS (GPS is a form of Global Navigation Satellite Services: GNSS) and body strakes for additional stability and lift, with the JDAM-ER adding a wing-kit to triple the weapon's glide range to more than 70 km.
The US Air Force's General James Hecker, then head of US Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), confirmed at the Air and Space Forces Association's Warfare Symposium held from 6-8 March 2023, that the US had supplied the JDAM-ER to Ukraine.
Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yury Ignat confirmed on 31 March 2023 that it had received and was using JDAM munitions, which may have included or meant JDAM-ER.
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