US plan on providing upgraded long-range bombs to Ukraine

(MENAFN) The US has enhanced the Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bombs (GLSDB) to overcome Russian electronic jamming and is expected to send them back to the battlefield in Ukraine in the coming days, according to a Reuters report. The GLSDB, developed by Boeing and SAAB AB, combines the GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb with the M26 rocket motor, giving it a range of about 100 miles (161 km).

The Biden administration had previously sent an undisclosed number of GLSDBs to Ukraine, but their use was paused after they proved ineffective against Russian forces last year. Russia’s advanced electronic warfare capabilities had disrupted the precision-guidance systems of many Western munitions, including GLSDBs and GPS-guided Excalibur artillery shells, rendering them useless shortly after deployment.

In response, Boeing has upgraded the GLSDBs with reinforced internal components to improve their resistance to jamming. Reuters reports that at least 19 of these upgraded bombs were test-fired in recent weeks, and the US has stockpiled many more in Europe, ready to resume shipments to Ukraine soon.

This move comes as reports indicate that Ukraine has exhausted its stockpile of US-supplied Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS), which have a range of 300 km. Kiev began using ATACMS in late 2024 for strikes on Russian territory but depleted the supply by January 2025. Moscow has warned that long-range Ukrainian strikes, especially with Western-supplied weapons, would make NATO a direct participant in the conflict, prompting Russia to retaliate with hypersonic missiles.

MENAFN15032025000045015687ID1109317971