What is known about the AASM Hammer guided aerial bombs provided by France for Ukrainian aircraft

Ukraine and France are continuing efforts towards a record level of deliveries of AASM Hammer guided aerial bombs to Ukraine.

The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine provides an overview of these munitions, which have been effectively engaging enemy targets for several years.

In the French Air and Space Force, AASM Hammer aerial bombs can be employed from a wide range of aircraft, including the F-16, Dassault Rafale, Mirage 2000D, and others. In the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, these aerial bombs have been adapted for launches from MiG-29 aircraft.

AASM HAMMER is a modular guidance kit with a range-extension module that turns unguided gravity bombs into precision-guided air-to-surface weapons. It includes a guidance section and a tail module with aerodynamic fins and a booster.

Equipped with inertial, satellite, laser, or infrared guidance, the munition delivers target accuracy within 10 metres. The booster enables engagement of enemy targets at ranges of up to 70 km, allowing aircraft to release the munition from a safe stand-off distance.

Currently, the most common AASM Hammer configurations are for the 250-kg Mk 82 and 1,000-kg Mk 84 bomb bodies. Other bomb variants are also supported.

To recap, in Kyiv, the Minister of Defence of Ukraine, Mykhailo Fedorov, and France’s Minister of the Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs, Catherine Vautrin, signed a Letter of Intent on joint weapons production in Ukraine and France. The talks also covered efforts to ensure a record volume of deliveries of AASM Hammer guided aerial bombs.