France to supply Ukraine with AASM guided aerial bombs and increase the number of shells
French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said that his country will supply more shells to Ukraine and will transfer guided aerial bombs on a monthly basis throughout the year.
He said this on the air of France Inter TV channel.
– “From February 2022 to April 2023, we supplied 1,000 shells per month. Since February last year – 2,000 rounds per month, and since January 2024 – 3,000 rounds per month,” Lecornu said.
Lecorneuil also announced the delivery of about 50 AASM Hammer guided bombs per month, starting in January, for a year. According to him, these medium-range projectiles will be able to adapt to Soviet-class aircraft, such as the Mig and Su, which Ukraine uses.
The French minister noted that since the beginning of the full-scale war in Ukraine, Paris has supplied 30 Caesar air defense systems to Kyiv. According to him, in the coming weeks it will supply six more guns and will be able to produce 72 more by the beginning of 2025. That is a total of 78 in more than a year.
He noted that it used to take 30 months to produce a Caesar gun, but now it has been reduced to 15 months.
What is known about AASM
This is a bomb with a tail, steering surfaces and a solid fuel engine. The latter allows to increase the range of the bomb to more than 70 km, which is achieved by high-altitude dropping.
It has a nose guidance system (inertial/satellite/thermal imaging/laser), which significantly increases the range and accuracy of the bomb.
The AASM’s warhead can be 125, 250, 500 and 1 thousand kilograms. It also has an aerial detonation function. The AASM is similar to the previously transferred JDAMs.
France will deliver 50 AASM Hammer guided aerial bombs to Ukraine every month during 2024, the country’s defense minister
The weight of the bomb can be 125, 250, 500 or 1000 kg, the launch range is 60 km pic.twitter.com/gERDGfjm9x
— Ukrainian Front (@front_ukrainian) January 18, 2024
In addition, Lecorneuil called for a distinction between promises and actual deliveries, saying that some countries “have made a lot of statements for political reasons.” He added that France is proud that everything that has been promised is being delivered.
He did not specify who he was referring to, but mentioned Germany, which refuses to supply Taurus missiles, even though they are “game changers.”
Lecorneu also denied that the Russian army had seized the initiative on the front, adding that Moscow would not win the war against Ukraine. The minister emphasized that the Russian army’s successes are limited to “two kilometers gnawed here and taken back.” He added that despite the fact that the counteroffensive “did not work, it does not give Putin an advantage.”
