Share this page!

Maybe Scrolly?
Trent Telenko Profile picture
Twitter logo
Feb 22 • 18 tweets • 7 min read
My earlier JDAM-ER thread has generated a number of questions which I will be trying to answer in this🧵

The much cheaper JDAM-ER has been around for a while but has been overshadowed by the JSSAM, JASSM-ER, & LRASM in US military service.
1/18
This Australian DST video is the only one I've found on with images of the JDAM-ER testing.

A key take away is that JDAM-ER is in production for the Australian RAAF.⬇️

2/18
This and the next two articles have better range performance charts and plots on the JDAM-ER.

Including contractor supplied plots for the JDAM-ER demonstrator with the Aussie Kerkanya wing kit design.

3/18
ausairpower.net/TE-GTV-Kerkany…
I'm also dropping these articles because the Ukrainian defense media seems to have missed the point on the JDAM-ER.

See these concept of operations images.

ausairpower.net/TE-JDAMPt1.html
4/18
It seems they have no idea what it actually means in Ukraine's fight to liberate it's territory from Russian occupation.

JDAM-ER has been in RAAF service since 2015, as well as being in production, so there is a RAAF tactical library the PSU can use.
5/18
dst.defence.gov.au/innovation/joi…
Only requirement for JDAM and JDAM-ER is to use Mil-Std-1760C connections on a smart pylon.

All the Ukrainian PSU has to do in order to toss bomb waves of JDAM-ER is replicate the AGM-88 HARM missile interface used for it's Mig-29's and Su-27's...

6/18
...on the Su-24 & Su-25 fleets.

American JDAM's to Ukraine was announced many weeks ago but we have not seen any photos. So the initial operating capability & status are unknown.

But doing the JDAM-ER after generic JDAM will be easy-peasy, if it isn't simultaneous.

7/18
From one of the earlier links:

"The Key design objectives for the HdH (Hawker de Havilland now Boeing owned) product are lowest possible mass production cost, zero hardware changes to the existing GBU-31/32/35/38 tailkits, best possible performance, modularity, ease of

8/18
...maintenance and especially shortest possible assembly time in the field. The latter will be critical to user acceptance of the kit, the less time expended and the fewer errors in assembly when deployed in the middle of nowhere, the more popular the kit will be with...
9/18
...its users. The design philosophy is centred on producing a flexible product which can further grow as customers request additions. Should a customer pursue a high wing configuration, improved glide range, or a different wing sweep angle, the basic design is aimed at...

10/18
...accommodating such changes at the lowest incremental cost."

Short form: The Australian JDAM-ER glide kit was designed to be cheap, easy to mass produce, and for ease of installation with the minimum of tools.

11/18
Thus it will be easy for PSU ground crews at converted highway air bases to bolt together the JDAM-ER.

The Su-25, NATO code name Frogfoot, has eight weapons stations you can hang a 500lb GBU-38 JDAM bomb from.

12/18
Rather than a pair of PSU Su-25 flying low like this to get to the front.



13/18
And risk exposure to Russian MANPADS shoulder fired missiles, only to lob a few dozen unguided rockets to doubtful effect.

14/18
They are going to instead be able to lob _16_ GBU-38's with HdH wing kits 10 km behind the front line - out of MANPADS range - into Russian Army positions up to 30km behind the front line.

The PSU gets to deliver USAF style SHOCK & AWE, Baby!
15/18
Does anyone doubt that a couple hundred GBU-38 carefully painted upon these Russian fortifications like this in a week's time would crack them open like a sledge hammer hitting an egg?


16/18
At eight GBU-38 plus glide kits per Su-25, that is 25 sorties.

Four sorties a day for six days plus one more Su-25 sortie on the seventh.

17/18
JDAM-ER death is coming for the Russian Army carried on Ukrainian wings.

Welcome to Ukraine, vatniks.

18/18 End

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with Trent Telenko

Trent Telenko Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @TrentTelenko

Trent Telenko Profile picture
Feb 22
A lot of people will be focusing on the Russian tank in this video. I'm a lot more interested in the truck.

The Oshkosh M1070 HET AKA tank transporter is a key link in the mechanized recovery/logistics supply chain.

Logistics🧵

1/10
The M1070 Heavy Equipment Transporter is designed to carry a combat loaded M1A2 Abrams and it's crew. The truck cab is large enough for a driver, co-driver and 4-man tank crew.

The truck/trailer combination has 25 ton pull winch to drag a damaged Abrams on-board.

2/10 Image
And in wartime, this capability is used to transport heavily damage Abrams to depot level repair facilities for damage beyond local unit repair capability.

A lessor used but often thought about capability is massing M1070 for long distance operational level repositioning
3/10
Read 10 tweets
Trent Telenko Profile picture
Feb 22
FYI, this is where I got the 40km JDAM-ER toss bomb range from in the last🧵:

"The AGW, as noted previously, can be delivered in level flight or tossed. For a 2,000 ft [610 metres] release low level toss at 45 degrees and 0.82 Mach, the weapon has a

1/3
 ausairpower.net/TE-GTV-Kerkany…
...maximum range in excess of 24 nmi [44 km],
twice that of existing powered glidebombs.

Should a steep trajectory be required to penetrate a hard target, cca 30% of range will be sacrificed."

2/3
Now imagine what precision guided 500lb bombs are going to do to Russian fortifications like this.

PSU delivered JDAM-ER sledgehammer please meet a carton of RuAF eggs😈⬇️

3/3
Read 4 tweets
Trent Telenko Profile picture
Feb 22
This is going to be a JDAM-ER 🧵to try and explain the battlefield impact of the weapon in the Ukrainian Air Force, AKA the PSU.

Essentially this is a glide bomb kit version of the ubiquitous JDAM that pairs well with the PSU Su-24 fleet, the Soviet answer to the USAF F-111.
1/8
The ability of the Su-24 to fly transonic on the deck in a low density integrated air defense environment means there are a lot of low level holes in radar coverage to lob a stick of glide bombs out of, at high speed, inside occupied Ukraine.

2/8
The PSU would be able to hit a number of just over 100 km Russian logistical targets with a 60 km low altitude penetration & JDAM-ER toss bomb attack profile.

See examples⬇️

3/8
Read 8 tweets
Trent Telenko Profile picture
Feb 20
This is going to be a mechanized logistics thread dealing with a frustration I am having with Western intelligence & OSINT analysis of Russian logistics.

We are going to start with this picture to calibrate on what real mechanized logistical infrastructure looks like.

1/22
The previous Goggle satellite photo clip and this one are of a Walmart Distribution Center in New Braunfels, Texas.

The previous tweet showed the center's hundred of trailer loading bays and this photo shows a pair of forklifts next to a small building as the same facility.
2/22
This is a US Army M777 Battalion motor pool at Fort Hood, Texas from Google maps (left).

There are several FMTV trucks in the central isle that are equipped with HIAB material handling equipment cranes.

(See the graphic right)

3/22
Read 23 tweets
Trent Telenko Profile picture
Feb 17
One of the major questions for me in the Russo-Ukrainian War is why Russia hasn't used this sort of fast rail building equipment to link up LPR/DPR railways to Southern Ukraine railways in the time since the Kerch Straits Railway Bridge was cut?

1/6
It looks like the Southern Ukrainian road connecting Rostov on the Don to the Port of Berdyansk in Ukraine is collapsing from both overuse and a lack of Russian civil engineering effort to maintain it.

h/t @DenysDavydovUA
2/6 Image
The lack of Russian civil engineering support was something I spotted in the days immediately prior to the invasion.

The Russian inability to connect the Donbas railway network to Southern Ukraine since the Kerch straits railway bridge was cut...


3/6
Read 6 tweets
Trent Telenko Profile picture
Feb 17
One of the reasons I kept hammering on the impending Russian frostbite non-battle casualties will be worse than WW2 US Army levels back in January is corruption.

Every military has problems with clothing & textiles corruption. It's a foundational military procurement fraud.
1/4
The problem with talking about such real life problems is a lot of Western intelligence is deeply invested in "Strong Russia" for Iron Rice bowl reasons.

Russian soldiers dying from exposure & frostbite from Russian Military clothing & textiles procurement fraud can't be...
2/4
...believed by such people until it is rubbed in their collective faces publicly in a way that cannot be denied without them looking like fools.

Just like the Russian Army's complete lack of pallets, forklifts & all terrain telehandlers in it's artillery logistics.

3/4
Read 4 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

Send Email!

:(