US delays sending GLSDB high-precision long-range missiles to Ukraine

Graphic showing the GLSDB weapon being launched (Photo: Saab).

GLSDB is a combination of the M26 rocket and the GBU-39 small diameter bomb jointly produced by Boeing and Saab, which can be launched from ground platforms such as the M270 multiple launch rocket system (MRLS) and the high-mobility artillery rocket system (HIMARS).

Meanwhile, HIMARS, developed by defense manufacturer Lockheed Martin, is committed by the US to be delivered to the battlefield in Ukraine by early summer 2022. The system can launch up to six GMLRS missiles or one Army Combat Rocket System (ATACMS) that Ukraine wants but the Pentagon has not provided.

When the U.S. government first approached Boeing about buying and delivering the GLSDBs to Ukraine in the fall of 2022, the most optimistic timeline for delivery was sometime this spring, according to a document seen by Reuters at the time, according to Pentagon sources and people familiar with the matter.

But in February, Politico reported that the weapons shipment would not take place until late 2023, and sources now confirm that it will not take place until 2024.

Ukraine needs the GLSDB to augment the limited number of 160km-range ATACMS missiles the US has sent. It would allow the Ukrainian military to strike targets at twice the range they currently fire from the US-supplied HIMARS and force Russia to move its supplies further from the front line.

Sources close to the matter now say Boeing's US deliveries will take place by the end of December, followed by several months of testing before moving to Ukraine.

"We expect to deliver this important weapon to Ukraine sometime in early 2024 following successful verification," a Pentagon spokesman said, referring to "a term for testing."

Because the contract to begin production of the GLSDB was signed in March, deliveries are required to take place by the end of the year, according to a Pentagon statement.

The decision to send long-range missiles, which the US government has not yet purchased for itself, follows a proposal last summer from Boeing to US commanders in Europe to provide weapons to Ukraine.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/my-cham-gui-lo-ten-lua-tam-xa-do-chinh-xac-cao-glsdb-cho-ukraine-20231201150239144.htm