With the update from May 3rd, 2024, the U.S. Department of Defense announced a $23.5 million contract awarded to Scientific Applications and Research Associates (SARA) company for "the acquisition of Home-on GPS Jam seekers" and the "integration of the extended range seekers into existing Joint Direct Attack Munition wing kits," The Drive reports with reference to the official release.
Such an enhanced weapon not only will be resistant to electronic warfare devices but also able to use the jamming signals against them by locking on the source of emissions as the target. The terms of the contract provide, in particular, that part of the ordered kits will be supplied to Ukraine, however, without detailing the exact quantity and delivery deadlines.
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As noted by The Drive journalists, there is little public data about the Home-on GPS (or HOJ) kits. The first public appearance dates to 2018, when the SARA company announced the creation of kits for countering and defeating enemy electronic warfare equipment and its readiness to supply the product. The manufacturer revealed only the following details: the HOJ is compact enough, costs 10 times cheaper than its predecessors, and its component base allows for easy integration into guidance systems of any available precision-guided weapons for aircraft.
Importantly, such a technological innovation was at least tested under proving ground conditions. In December 2020, the U.S. Air Force conducted tests as part of the Golden Horde smart munitions program, during the trials the U.S. military practiced dropping a "swarm" of GBU-39/B guided aerial bombs, each of the munitions was equipped with a HOJ sensor by SARA. The results of these tests were considered successful.
The journalists note that the Pentagon awarded the contract for Home-on GPS anti-missile defense kits shortly after U.S. Under Secretary of Defense William LaPlante admitted that GLSDB bombs proved ineffective on the battlefield in Ukraine, precisely because of radio-electronic countermeasures deployed by russian forces.
At the same time, interestingly, the authors of this website don't rule out the possibility that the HOJ kits for the Ukrainian Armed Forces may in the future be integrated into AGM-88 HARM anti-radar missiles.
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