The United States has approved a new military aid package for Ukraine, with a central focus on the delivery of ERAM (Extended Range Attack Munition) air-launched weapons. The package includes 3,350 units valued at $850 million. According to The Wall Street Journal, citing sources within the White House administration, most of the funding will be covered by European countries, and the first shipments are expected to arrive in Ukraine within six weeks.

Development of ERAM began in 2024 during Joe Biden’s presidency and was international from the outset, with Denmark and the Netherlands taking an active role. The concept was to create a mass-produced, versatile, low-cost, and rapidly manufactured long-range weapon. A crucial part of the technical requirements was compatibility with «foreign-type» fighter aircraft, which removes the need for lengthy adaptation. This stands in contrast to earlier adjustments: in August 2022, Ukraine had to modify MiG-29 fighters for American AGM-88 HARM missiles, and later Su-24 bombers for British-French Storm Shadow/SCALP EG systems.

Pentagon specifications describe ERAM as a precision-guided air-to-surface munition weighing 227 kilograms, equipped with a high-explosive fragmentation warhead. It can be fitted with different types of fuzes to target various objectives. Depending on launch altitude and aircraft speed, the system’s range extends from 240 to 450 kilometers. Its accuracy is reported at within 10 meters, even under GPS jamming, achieved through inertial navigation and alternative guidance methods.

The munition is powered by a small solid-fuel engine, enabling speeds of around 0.6 Mach (about 735 km/h). In design, ERAM blends the characteristics of a guided glide bomb, similar to the American JDAM, with those of a compact cruise missile.