G’day friends, Wes O’Donnell here—U.S. Army and Air Force veteran, journalist, and fan of Australia’s military ingenuity.
In today’s video, I’m breaking down how Australia’s retired arsenal of F/A-18A/B Classic Hornet JDAM-ER munitions found a second life on the battlefields of Ukraine. That’s right—Down Under is stepping up to support Ukraine with precision-guided bombs, and it’s making a big difference.
I’ll dive into how Australia repurposed its surplus JDAM-ER kits to give Ukraine an edge against Russian forces. These kits transform “dumb” bombs into GPS-guided munitions with a range of 43 nautical miles (80 km), keeping Ukrainian aircraft safely out of range of Russian air defenses. But there’s a twist: Russia’s electronic warfare systems are causing challenges. From GPS jamming to the U.S.’s innovative solutions like anti-jam seekers, I’ll explore how the battlefield is evolving.
You’ll also learn:
How Ukraine’s modified MiG-29s and F-16s are deploying these weapons.
Why Russian jamming tactics sometimes backfire (literally).
The future of JDAM-ER upgrades, including bombs that hunt jammers.
And because I can’t resist, there’s a bit of Aussie love here. From the cool Royal Australian Air Force roundel to my own Christmas tree decorated with kangaroo ornaments, Australia’s military spirit truly shines.
This story is about more than just munitions—it’s about adaptability and cooperation between allies. Tune in to see how Ukraine is using Aussie ingenuity to fight back and why precision-guided weapons like the JDAM-ER are shaping the future of modern warfare.
Advance Australia, and as always, glory to Ukraine, glory to the heroes. Slava Ukraini!
#Ukraine #JDAMER #Australia #UkraineWar #MilitaryTechnology #PrecisionWeapons #ElectronicWarfare #RussiaUkraineWar #AussieSupport #SlavaUkraini #славаукраїні #europe #raaf
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I'm proud Australia is helping out Ukraine. 🇦🇺❤️🇺🇦
"RAAF" is pronounced "R, double A, F." There are some things Texans just don't get…
whatever, but I don't think most Australians are good with being told they are "like" Texans. you are smart enough to know why that is but i guess you need to promote your channel to foreign audiences. just know that your opinion on that similarity is just that, opinion, and not at all based on objective fact.
Good on you, Australia, for helping keep the UAF in the fight!
Wes – the ruzzian GPS is Glonass. No 's' in the middle.
Glory to Ukraine and her heroes!
MSgt Out
Slava Ukraine
Dear USA, please continue to support Ukraine, if Putin wins, nobody is safe anymore, not even the USA!!! Greetings from Germany.
Thanks Wes For Doing Segments On Ukraine and Weapons Helping Ukraine to God Willing Win this War I just Seen your Holiday Post I'm From Michigan as well and Half Ukrainian/ German Happy Holiday to you and your Family and all your Listeners Slava Ukraini Horoyam Slava Till Victory 🩵💛🩵💛🩵💛❤️🙏
Great news thank you Australia!
Thanks a lot Australia!!!
Hi Wes , found your channel by accident but absolutely love it , its, so informative . I've been in ukraine now for 2 years working as a medic and can say it's not only weapons Australia has supplied but also tons of medical equipment like so many countries . Thank you everybody .
Simply brilliant the way you said, " Brisbane ". Just like an Aussie and nothing like a yank.
Well done, keep practising your Aussie.
Wes, Australia has a town named Texas in South-Central Queensland 😁
Kangaroo sausages and hamburger patties are excellent and Kanaga meat has the lowest fat content of any flag symbol in the world. Slice of bread or a hot dog bun, a BBQed kanga banga on a bed of caramalised onions with sliced pickles and you have a snack that is better than a Saturday at Bunnings. 👍👍mmmmmmmmm 👍👍 Thanks Skip!
For Christs sake mate we dont all go around saying Crikey, get with the program, were not British either, how about travel here and fkin find out how we speak carnt
Jammers are inherently SITTING DUCKS for anti-radar missiles.
Inertial navigation CANNOT be jammed by any system.
I was going to ask: GPS jammer seekers for bombs/missiles (or even drones). Hope sooner (like field tests in Ukraine, or that Ukraine is already on it) than later.
They offered the FA-18s but these were rejected. They had actual combat experience over Syria and Iraq. A lot of Australian kit was second hand when they first got it. It took 9 years for Australia to finally get the F-111s in the late 1960s/early 1970s. The F-111s were taking too much maintenance time to keep flying.
Aussie here. I'm so very proud of the people who made this possible. i just hope they make a difference. Slava Ukraini.
It's great that Australia supports Ukraine. And for Australia it's also great to NOT having to scrap these explosives. Clearly a win-win situation. Slava Ukraini!
Why not use GLONASS instead of GPS?
yeah not much in common m8, we give our women the right to decide for their body. and we are a bit less conspiracy driven ROFL. and everything living wants to kill you
We really dont have a culture similar to the culture of Texas. If you think we do then id suggest you dont know our culture very well.
Thanks Wes – as a Brit and a civvie I love the clarity and overview of your videos.
And I'm sure that our Antipodean cousins have nothing but love for your 'Sydney via Dick Van Dyke' Aussie accent 😂
Slava Ukrayini 🇺🇦✌️✌️✌️🇺🇦
Hey Wes, I enjoy your content. I like the way you structure your videos, but the video clips with you in them need more contrast. You may need better lighting, or maybe it is just something in your video processing – but if you add some contrast, you'll literally see a visible improvement. Cheers! And, of course, Slava Ukraini!
With Russia bragging about EW for decades, I'm surprised the home-on-jammer tech that newer AMRAAMs have wasn't integrated into other guided weapons.
Lol when Australia government announces something they donated, would of sent it 6 months or more before going public….
Thanks Australia
Good vid, thanks. 🙂 Just for the win, in Oz we call the RAAF the "R double-A F".
The Australian Air Force Rondell is lovingly called the Fat Rat. And yes we stick them everywhere, even got one onto Airforce One some years back.
Texas and Australia are about as different as you can get when comparing two Western jurisdictions.
Texas is like Australia!?????
Thank you, Australia for helping the Ukrainians. Greetings from the Philippines.