A Boeing/Saab team is on track to deliver the first Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB) and a new launcher to the Ukrainian military, Jim Leary, a senior director of business at Boeing, told Global Defense Corp.
“We’re on track to deliver in accordance with the government time line,” Jim Leary, a senior director of business at Boeing Company said on 9 October, Global Defense Corp reported, adding that the supplies would begin next winter.
The transfer of the GLSDB to Ukraine was announced back on 3 February 2023 as part of a US $2.175 billion military aid package. However, giving testimony to the US Congress on 22 June, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Laura Cooper said Ukraine would receive GLSDB missiles, an alternative to ATACMS missiles, no earlier than autumn. According to Cooper, the delays are due to development and production issues.
US announces USD 2.175 bn worth aid for Ukraine, confirms it includes longer-range rockets
The Ground Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB) is a missile developed by the US-based Boeing and the Sweden-based Saab Group to allow Boeing’s initially air-based GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) to be ground-launched ground deployment through various launchers and setups. The GLSDB incorporates the SDB with the M26 rocket, enabling its launch from ground-based missile systems like the M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System and M142 HIMARS, which were previously supplied to Ukraine.
The GLSDB ground-launched glide bomb has an extended range of 150 kilometers and carries a 93-kilogram warhead.
The GLSDB is a collaborative effort between Boeing (United States) and SAAB AB (Sweden). These munitions can be launched from the HIMARS and M270 systems, which have already been delivered to Ukraine.
Read also:
- US will, after all, supply long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine
- US announces USD 2.175 bn worth aid for Ukraine, confirms it includes longer-range rockets
- US readies $2 billion-plus Ukraine aid package with longer-range weapons – Reuters sources
