News that Ukraine could soon receive hundreds of AASM high-precision air-dropped bombs from NATO member France has spooked Russians because of their military capabilities.
On Thursday, French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu told radio network France Inter that his country will be supplying Ukraine with 50 of the AASM, or Highly Agile Modular Munition Extended Range (HAMMER), weapons per month until the end of the year, according to Ukrainian news outlet European Pravda.
The munitions have been adapted to be deployed from Ukrainian Soviet-era combat aircraft, he said.
"We managed to adapt them for use with Soviet model aircraft...we will supply 50 of them per month, starting in January, throughout 2024," Lecornu said.
The AASM was developed for use as a precision stand-off weapon, and is able to be launched from low altitude, over rough terrain. The weapons have a maximum range of more than 50 kilometers with a high altitude launch and 15 kilometers with a low altitude launch, according to military history website WeaponSystems.
Ukrainian outlet Defense Express noted that the AASM is "an ordinary bomb with a special attachment kit that increases the range and precision of strike."
The Huffington Post on Thursday also cited an unnamed source as saying that France would be providing Ukraine with the weapons against Russia, which launched its invasion on February 24, 2022.
Newsweek has reached out to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry by email for comment.
Responding to the news, the pro-war Russian Military Informant Telegram channel described the AASM as the "biggest threat."
"The degree of operational readiness of this weapon is unknown, but the possibility of its testing by the Ukrainian Armed Forces for testing in real combat cannot be ruled out," the Telegram channel wrote on Thursday.
Lecornu was also quoted as saying that beginning next month, France will ramp up its delivery of artillery shells from 2,000 per month to up to 3,000 per month. France will also deliver to Ukraine six Caesar howitzers, the defense minister said.
"There are 49 Caesar howitzers in Ukraine so far that led to tactical success," he said. "We aimed to produce 78 Caesar howitzers in 2024, encouraging Europeans and our allies to join financing."
Olena Shuliak, the head of the Servant of the People political party, Ukraine, thanked Lecornu in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
"Thank you...this help will find the best possible use for the fight for the freedom of Europe!" she wrote.
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Isabel van Brugen is a Newsweek Reporter based in Kuala Lumpur. Her focus is reporting on the Russia-Ukraine war. Isabel ... Read more
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