This American precision kill weapon has been active in Ukraine for quite a while

In May 2023, a video released by Ukraine’s 37th Marine Brigade showed that they were using a sophisticated American-made laser-guided rocket weapon to take out high-profile Russian targets on the frontlines of the war in the country.

The video in question was reported on by Forbes’s David Axe and showed the first use of the American Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) in the Ukraine war.

Photo: Wiki Commons

The APKWS was created by BAE Systems, and according to the arms manufacturer's website, it was designed to help unguided munitions hit “targets with pinpoint accuracy.”

In the video, the APKWS can be seen being employed against a range of targets but the most impressive was a strike against one of Russia’s tower-mounted radar sensors. 

Photo by Twitter @UAWeapons

“The tower strike in particular underscores the APKWS’s precision,” wrote Axe about the weapon’s capabilities. “A tower presents a much smaller target than a building does.”

Photo by Twitter @UAWeapons

The BAE Systems' weapon just a weapon but rather a laser guidance kit that can be added to unguided guided munitions to make them more accurate on the battlefield. 

On BAE Systems' website, the arms manufacturer points out that its laser guidance kit can be added to rockets like the Hydra 70 Mk 66, which is likely what was in the video. 

Photo: Wiki Commons

According to BAE, the guidance system can zero in on targets from up to 6 miles away, which provides its users with the unparalleled ability to keep their launch platform safe. 

Photo by Twitter @UAWeapons

The APKWS was launched in 2008 and became what BAE called “the most accurate, effective, and easy to implement systems in the world for converting unguided rockets.”

David Axe noted that the laser guidance kit is very versatile in its combat capabilities and it can be fitted to warplanes and helicopters as well as ground vehicles and drones. 

Ground compatibility might be an important game-changer for Ukrainian forces since it will allow them to strike at key Russian targets from a distance with hit-and-run tactics. 

Axe explained that the ground-based APKWSs include their own “laser designator” and these can be used by forward spotters or drones to get a clear line of sight on targets. 

The APKWS could be used to break strong points in Russian defenses or knock out key ground vehicles or communications arrays as soldiers continue to push into the occupied territories and try to break the Russian defensive lines in the south of the country.

“One 70-millimeter rocket packs a 10-pound warhead,” Axe wrote, adding that it was “perfectly capable of blasting open a building, blowing up a lightly-armored vehicle or disabling a tank,” making it one of the most versatile weapons in Ukraine’s arsenal. 

“The precision rocket could be an effective countermeasure to Russia’s 25-pound Lancet suicide drones, which pose a serious threat to lightly-protected Ukrainian artillery and air defenses—especially on the open terrain of southern Ukraine,” Axe added.

Photo: Nickel Nitride, Own Work, Wiki Commons

The United States first negotiated a contract with BAE Systems to provide Ukraine with its laser-guided system back in May 2022 according to Axe but follow-on contracts have amounted to $60 million in aid which has provided Ukraine with about 2000 kitted-out rockets.