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The previous version of the weapon proved ineffective against Russian electronic warfare
The US has upgraded the Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bombs (GLSDB) to counter Russian jamming and is set to reintroduce them to the battlefield in Ukraine within days, according to a Reuters report.
The GLSDB, jointly developed by Boeing and SAAB AB, combines the GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb with the M26 rocket motor, creating a weapon with a range of approximately 100 miles (161km).
The administration of former President Joe Biden sent an undisclosed number of GLSDBs to Kiev, but it has been months since Ukraine last used them against Russian forces after they proved ineffective last year, sources told Reuters.
Russia’s electronic warfare capabilities rendered precision-guided Western munitions – including GLSDB and GPS-guided Excalibur artillery shells – useless, the Wall Street Journal reported in July. With their guidance systems scrambled, some of these weapons were reportedly retired within weeks of being deployed.
Since then, Boeing has introduced several upgrades, including reinforced internal connections to enhance resistance to jamming. According to Reuters sources, at least 19 GLSDBs were test-fired in recent weeks to assess the effectiveness of the modifications. The US has stockpiled a significant number of these relatively inexpensive bombs in Europe and is “poised” to resume shipments to Kiev within days, the publication reported.
The potential replacement comes amid reports that Ukraine has depleted its stockpile of US-supplied Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS), which have a longer range of 300km.
Kiev began using ATACMS missiles for strikes into internationally recognized Russian territory in autumn 2024, particularly targeting the border regions of Kursk, Bryansk, Belgorod, and Rostov. However, the stockpile was fully exhausted by late January, AP reported on Wednesday.
Moscow has warned the US and its allies against allowing long-range Ukrainian strikes, arguing that this makes NATO a direct participant in the conflict due to Kiev’s reliance on Western-supplied weapons.
In response to Ukraine’s first ATACMS strikes in November last year, Russia launched its new hypersonic Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile at the Yuzhmash military-industrial facility in the Ukrainian city of Dnepr.
