Smart bombs with wings

The Australian army will be the first armed force to use the most advanced smart bomb version built by Boeing Corporation.

If you look back on old documentary films about bombing campaigns during World War II, you will see planes drop bombs from their 'belly'. The paradox is that the bombs are not aimed at any target. Pilots hit the button to let them fall in the hope that they will hit certain targets. The fall position of the bomb depends on the gravity of the earth and the wind. People call them 'stupid bombs' . Although pilots want to drop bombs on a large target (such as a reservoir), whether or not the bombs fall in place they want depends entirely on luck.

The guided bomb was born during the Cold War thanks to the support of cameras, lasers, radio control systems and other devices. The ability to hit the target of this bomb is higher than the bomb during World War II, but their production costs are also larger. Although the accuracy increased, the ability to destroy their target still depended on luck. Thus, after World War II until the Gulf War in 1991, most bombs were still called "stupid bombs".

Illustration of a JDAM-ER bomb. (Photo: Boeing)

After the Gulf War, the US Department of Defense wanted to build an air-to-ground weapon capable of operating in all weather and terrain conditions. Within a decade, many US defense industry groups studied the type of bomb required by the Pentagon. Boeing Corporation built a universal bomb named Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM). This is not a new type of bomb. In fact, Boeing only sought to increase the "intelligence" for the existing bombs by fitting wings and armed with the tail controller of the bomb. The control process is performed by a combination of a global positioning system and a three-axis inertial system.

If carrying a JDAM, the aircraft could throw from a height of 8 to 24km - a safe distance for the pilot. In addition, the pilot can bomb when the plane is flying down or flying up. JDAM bombs can destroy targets within a radius of 13m from the location of its ground. Because of the relatively low cost of producing JDAM bombs ($ 27,000 / pod), 26 countries have used the bomb and 238,000 controllers have been produced.

The latest version of the JDAM bomb is JDAM-ER (short for the JDAM Extended Range) designed by Boeing. The bomb has a mass of nearly 227kg and will be manufactured in Australia. The Australian Air Force will be the first force to use them. Its difference from previous versions is that the bomb will only open after the bomb is thrown from the plane. With JDAM-ER, one can increase its accuracy by adding laser sensors, anti-jamming devices to the global positioning system, radar sensors capable of operating in all time conditions. details.

Boeing successfully tested the guide for JDAM-ER bombs in tunnels since September this year.

'Using the JDAM-ER bomb, the Australian Air Force will be able to reduce the risk of casualties for pilots, allowing aircraft to attack targets from high altitudes that enemy antiaircraft guns cannot destroy. . With the new bomb, our air force can destroy many targets but reduce the number of launches, ' said Jason Clare, Australian Defense Minister.