The US is preparing to continue transporting long-range weapons called ground-launched small diameter bombs (GLSDB) to Ukraine after they are upgraded to increase their resistance to jamming.
Informed sources said on March 13 that the US GLSDB long-range bomb will be delivered to Ukraine in the coming days amid information that Ukraine has exhausted its supply of the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) with a similar range.
In recent weeks, 19 GLSDBs have been tested to assess the effectiveness of the upgrades. Part of these modifications include reinforcing the connections inside the weapon to increase its resilience.
The redeployment of the GLSDB to the battlefield could take place in the coming days. The last time the Ukrainian military used the weapon was several months ago, the source said.
The US provided glide bombs to Ukraine under former US President Joe Biden. Washington purchased nearly $33.2 billion in new weapons and military equipment for Kiev directly from US and allied defense contractors.
Russian jamming has prevented many of Ukraine’s relatively new long-range GLSDB bombs from hitting their intended targets.
Over the past year, Ukraine has been seeking weapons with a longer range than the US-supplied GMLRS rockets to be able to strike and disrupt Russian supply lines and assembly points.
In response, Boeing offered the Pentagon a new 100-mile-range weapon called the GLSDB. The glide bomb has small wings that extend its range and is powered by a GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) and an M26 rocket motor, both of which are common in the U.S. arsenal and relatively inexpensive. However, the GLSDB’s guidance system has been jammed by Russia.
Jamming occurs when a large amount of energy is sent into an area, overloading the signal of a device. Russia has used this tactic with radios, drones, and even Ukraine’s GPS-guided 155mm Excalibur artillery shells.
Information about the resumption of long-range bomb aid comes amid Ukraine’s depletion of long-range ATACMS missiles.
ATACMS is a ballistic missile supplied by the US, with a range of up to 300km. Former US President Joe Biden eased restrictions on Ukraine’s use of ATACMS in November 2024, allowing Kiev to use them to attack military targets on Russian territory.
Since late last year, Ukraine has had to limit its use of this type of missile. The situation became even more difficult when earlier this month US President Donald Trump ordered a freeze on all aid to Ukraine.
On March 11, the administration of President Donald Trump agreed to resume military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine after Kiev said it was ready to accept a US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire with Russia.
