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Ukraine becomes first to use 1000-pound JDAM-ER guided bombs

Combat footage showed a Ukrainian Soviet-era Su-27 heavy fighter releasing two guided bombs, striking Russian targets.
byYuri Zoria
04/02/2025
2 minute read
Screenshots from the Ukrainian 39th Brigade’s video, showing the release of two 1000-pound JDAM-ER bombs by a Ukrainian aircraft.
Ukraine becomes first to use 1000-pound JDAM-ER guided bombs

Ukraine has become the first country to employ thousand-pound (454 kg) Mark 83 bombs adapted with JDAM-ER (Joint Direct Attack Munition-Extended Range) guidance systems, The Aviationist reports. The publication notes that the 1000′ bomb “might have been specifically produced for the Ukrainian Air Force.”

Facing dwindling Soviet-era stockpiles, the Ukrainian Air Force has retrofitted its Soviet-era jets to deploy US- and French-supplied guided bombs amid the ongoing war. While Ukraine operates an undisclosed number of US-made F-16s, it remains unclear whether they are used for bombing missions.

Recent video footage shows a Ukrainian Su-27 Flanker aircraft dropping two thousand-pound JDAM-ER bombs against Russian targets, confirming the new capability.

This development follows Ukraine’s successful integration of five-hundred-pound (226 kg) GBU-62 JDAM-ER guided bombs, which were first delivered in 2023.

According to Militarnyi, the video published by the 39th Tactical Aviation Brigade shows the Su-27 delivering precision-guided glide bombs on Russian positions in a forest belt. OSINT analyst @Osinttechnical compared the size of the new aerial bombs under the Su-27’s wing with known photos of five-hundred-pound bombs, confirming their significantly larger dimensions.

Comparison of 500 pound (left) and 1000 pound (right) JDAM bombs. Photo via X/Osinttechnical

Neither Boeing nor the US military had previously disclosed the existence of a thousand-pound JDAM-ER variant. The system combines a pop-out wing kit with GPS/INS guidance, extending the weapon’s standoff range beyond 40 miles or 64 km.

US Air Force Gen. James Hecker, head of US Air Forces in Europe, first revealed Ukraine’s use of JDAM-ER capabilities in March 2023, though he referenced the five-hundred-pound variant, according to Aviationist.

In November 2024, Australia had supplied JDAM-ERs to Ukraine, transferring weapons withdrawn from service in 2021 alongside their F/A-18A/B Hornet fleet retirement.

The JDAM-ER system originated from a 2006-2008 joint development between Boeing and Australia’s Defense Science and Technology Organization. A similar effort was launched in 2009 with South Korea’s Times Aerospace Korea for a two-thousand-pound variant.

In May 2024, the United States ordered Home-on GPS sensors for Ukraine’s JDAM-ER equipped bombs, aimed at countering Russian electronic warfare systems, as per Militarnyi.

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