News: US Sends Upgraded GLSDB Long-Range Bombs to Ukraine

The United States is set to resume providing Ukraine with an upgraded version of the Ground Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB), a weapon that has been improved to more effectively counter Russian electronic interference.

According to sources quoted by Reuters, this shipment of ammunition arrives at a time when Ukraine’s stockpile of a similar Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) with comparable range is almost depleted.

The GLSDB batch was initially procured through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) by the former Biden administration. To date, the U.S. has provided nearly $33.2 billion in weapons and military equipment to Kyiv, sourced from domestic and allied defense contractors.

The Trump administration agreed this week to resume military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine, following Kyiv’s support for Washington’s proposal for a 30-day ceasefire with Russia.

In recent weeks, the U.S. has conducted tests on 19 GLSDBs to validate the upgraded performance. Sources revealed that enhancements include strengthening internal connections within the bombs to improve resistance to interference.

It is expected that this upgraded batch of GLSDBs will be redeployed into the battlefield in the coming days, as the U.S. military has already stockpiled inventory in Europe. Sources noted that the last time Ukraine used this weapon was several months ago.

Last May, three sources informed Reuters that Russian electronic interference had caused many of Ukraine’s newly launched long-range GLSDB missiles to miss their targets.

Over the past year, Ukraine has been seeking weapons with longer range than the Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) provided by the U.S., which has a range of only 69 kilometers (approximately 43 miles).

To meet Ukraine’s requirements, Boeing offered the GLSDB to the U.S. Department of Defense, with a range of 161 kilometers (about 100 miles). The GLSDB is jointly produced by Saab AB of Sweden and Boeing, and was in development even before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Equipped with deployable small wings to extend its range, the glide bomb is comprised of a GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) warhead and an M26 rocket engine, components that are commonly found in U.S. military inventory and are relatively cost-effective.

Despite the GLSDB’s navigation capabilities to bypass mountains and known air defense systems, previous versions were still affected by Russian electronic interference, resulting in decreased accuracy.

The deployment of this upgraded version of the GLSDB may provide Ukraine with enhanced long-range strike capability, which could be utilized to disrupt Russian supply lines and assembly points, further bolstering Kyiv’s offensive on the battlefield.