The U.S. government under the Biden administration has approved the sale of precision-guided
weapons to Israel worth $735 million.
This comes at a time when there is apprehension that the raging conflict could escalate into
a full-blown war.
The contract is for Joint Direct Attack Munitions, many of which Israel has bought earlier.
The Joint Direct Attack Munitions or JDAMs is made by Boeing Co and would have been a
routine sale if not for the current situation.
Viewers may note that The administration is required to inform Congress of such sales,
although official notification generally comes only after Congress has informally agreed.
Once the formal notification is made, lawmakers have 15 days to object with a nonbinding resolution
of disapproval.
A spokesperson for the House Foreign Affairs Committee confirmed that Congress was notified
of this sale on May 5.
In this video Defense Updates analyzes how American made Joint Direct Attack Munitions
could help Israel tackle Hamas?
Let's get into the details.
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Israel and the Islamist movement Hamas in Gaza exchanged heavy fire in the last few
days.
As per reports, more than 3,000 rockets have been fired from the Palestinian enclave towards
Israel.
Israel has retaliated with enormous force involving as many as 160 fighter aircraft
from Israel’s Air Force.
The recent fighting seems to be some of the most intense since the 2014 conflict.
The offensive aimed to destroy the network of tunnels dug by Hamas.
The tunnels are thought to house servers, weaponry and military equipment.
Hamas is an acronym which when translated means Islamic Resistance Movement.
It won the 2006 Palestinian legislative election and became the de facto governing authority
of the Gaza Strip following the 2007 Battle of Gaza.
Israel and Hamas have since engaged in several conflicts of varying intensity before this.
The U.S. Air Force's bombing campaign during the Persian Gulf War's Operation Desert Storm
was less effective than initially reported, in part because it had no precision bombs
that were accurate in all weathers.
Laser guidance packages on bombs proved exceptionally accurate in clear conditions, but amid airborne
dust, smoke, fog, or cloud cover, they had difficulty maintaining "lock" on the laser
designation.
Research, development, testing and evaluation (RDT&E) of an "adverse weather precision-guided
munition" began in 1992.
Several proposals were considered, including a radical concept that used GPS.
At the time, there were few GPS satellites and the idea of using satellite navigation
for real-time weapon guidance was untested and controversial.
These obstacles were slowly overcome.
The first JDAM kits were delivered in 1997, with operational testing conducted in 1998
and 1999.
During testing, over 450 JDAMs were dropped achieving system reliability in excess of
95% with a published accuracy under 10 m (33 ft) CEP
The JDAM is essentially a guidance kit that converts unguided bombs, or "dumb bombs",
into all-weather precision-guided munitions.
JDAM-equipped bombs are guided by an integrated inertial guidance system coupled to a Global
Positioning System (GPS) receiver, giving them a published range of up to 15 nautical
miles (28 km).
JDAM-equipped bombs range from 500 pounds (227 kg) to 2,000 pounds (907 kg).
The JDAM's guidance system was jointly developed by the United States Air Force and the United
States Navy, hence the "joint" in JDAM.
When installed on a bomb, the JDAM kit is given a GBU (Guided Bomb Unit) nomenclature,
superseding the Mark 80 or BLU (Bomb, Live Unit) nomenclature of the bomb to which it
is attached.
As stated, the JDAM is not a stand-alone weapon; rather it is a "bolt-on" guidance package
that converts unguided gravity bombs into precision-guided munitions (PGMs).
The key components of the system consist of a tail section with aerodynamic control surfaces,
a (body) strake kit, and a combined inertial guidance system and GPS guidance control unit.
Once released from the aircraft, the JDAM autonomously navigates to the designated target
coordinates.
Target coordinates can be loaded into the aircraft before takeoff, manually altered
by the aircrew before weapon release, or automatically entered through target designation with onboard
aircraft sensors.
JDAM enables multiple weapons to be directed against single or multiple targets on a single
pass.
This is not the first time Israel is buying JDAMs
In 2018, the US Department of Defence approved a $1.8 billion deal for both JDAM kits and
the bombs they attach to.
It is in focus mainly because of the current situation.
While Iron Dome has limited casualties on the Israeli side, Israel needs to take out
the Hamas-built tunnels which have been used to store and ultimately launch attacks.
This is where JDAMs come into the picture since they can accurately hit targets.
It also limits civilian casualties - this is very important since there is mounting
pressure to reach a ceasefire.
From a purely tactical perspective, Israel will like to keep the offensive going, a low
civilian toll will allow it to continue and achieve required military objectives.
To put into an overall context, the JDAMS would be a very useful weapon in the hands
of the Israeli Air Force.