The United States continues to fan the flames of the conflict in Ukraine by sending more and more advanced weaponry to the Kiev regime.
Initially supplying the Ukrainian forces with small arms and man-portable anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons, the US and its allies gradually ramped up their efforts to assist the Ukrainian war machine. Of late, it has provided Kiev with advanced military hardware such as HIMARS multiple rocket launchers and is now moving to send M1 Abrams battle tanks and M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles.
Recent reports, however, suggest that the US leadership intends to further boost Kiev’s capability to strike at distant targets, potentially allowing the Ukrainian Armed Forces to attack targets deep within Russia’s territory by providing it with longer-range rockets for the first time since the conflict broke out.
At least one media outlet claimed that the US is about to announce a new multimillion-dollar package for Kiev, with the majority of the funds, some $1.725 billion, coming from the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI). This money, among other things, is supposedly going to be used to procure Ground Launched Small Diameter Bombs (GLSDB) for the Ukrainian forces.
What is a Ground Launched Small Diameter Bomb?
Produced by the Saab Group and Boeing, GLSDBs are essentially a modified version of the latter corporation’s GBU-39/B precision-guided glide bomb, adapted for use in multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS).
Touted by Saab as a weapon capable of “defeating multiple threats ranging from hardened facilities to soft-skin assets,” GLSDB can be fired from multiple launch rocket systems such as HIMARS, which Ukraine already has.
What is Their Range?
GLSDB is capable of hitting targets up to 150 kilometers away, with its range exceeding that of other munitions the United States previously provided to Ukraine.
The weapon’s reach, while greater than that of the munitions the United States previously provided to Ukraine, is still smaller than that of the Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS), which has a range of 297 km, and which the US has so far been reluctant to send to Kiev.
Rather than simply follow a ballistic trajectory, like ordinary MLRS rockets, a GLSDB can be launched at a predetermined altitude and then glide towards its intended target.
The munition can also avoid terrain features such as mountains, and can be used against both stationary and moving targets.
How Much Does a GLSDB Cost?
GLSDB is not the most expensive weapon out there: the GBU-39/B bomb it is based on costs about $40,000 a piece, way less than the price of a GMLRS rocket (each of which costs around $100,000).
Even though this price may still seem a tad high for Ukraine, given the sorry state of the country’s economy, the fact that the entire Ukrainian war machine is basically bankrolled by the United States effectively negates this issue.