The U.S. is expected to deliver the first batch of new long-range bombs to Ukraine on Jan. 31, Politico reported, citing a U.S. official and three other people familiar with the matter.
The Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bombs (GLSDB) can reportedly strike at a range of 160 kilometers, expanding Ukraine’s long-range capabilities, alongside Storm Shadow/SCALP and ATACMS missiles.
According to Politico's sources, the Pentagon has successfully tested the new long-range precision bomb for Ukraine that could arrive “on the battlefield” on Jan. 31.
An unnamed U.S. official called GLSDB "a significant capability for Ukraine," which will allow it “to do more,” Politico reported.
The GLSDB can be launched using the U.S.-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) which have been in service in Ukraine since June 2022.
The ground-launched version of weapon, co-developed by Boeing and Swedish Saab defense company, is currently not yet in U.S. inventory, Politico said. It has a similar air-launched version.
The delivery of the GLSDB was first announced in February 2023, with initial estimates putting their arrival in Ukraine in late 2023.
Russia claimed that it had shot down a GLSDB in March 2023, but a U.S. official then told Reuters that none of these weapons had been delivered to Ukraine so far.
Dinara Khalilova
