What Are GLSDB? Ukraine Gets 100-Mile HIMARS Rounds Boost from U.S.

Ukraine will receive new long-range precision bombs that have just passed through testing in the U.S., according to a new report, boosting Kyiv's ability to strike deep behind the Russian front lines as ammunition shortages and fears swirl in the country over future military aid.

The U.S. will send a first set of Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bombs (GLSDBs) with a range of around 90 miles to Ukraine, arriving as early as Wednesday, Politico reported on Tuesday, citing four people with knowledge of the discussions.

The U.S. has floated sending GLSDB to Ukraine since fall 2022, but the timeline was pushed back to early 2024, pending successful tests, the Pentagon told Reuters in late November. Testing took place on January 16 in Florida, the news agency reported on Tuesday, citing three sources.

The GLSDB, a joint venture between Boeing and Swedish manufacturer Saab, will supplement the arsenal of long-range precision weapons Kyiv can use to strike. The GLSDBs will have around double the range of the HIMARS, or High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, the U.S. has donated to Kyiv, likely forcing Russian troops to relocate supplies further from the frontline.

The GLSDB has a shorter range than the ground-launched ATACMS, or Army Tactical Missile System that Ukraine dramatically debuted in October 2023, and the air-launched Storm Shadow cruise missile Kyiv has repeatedly used to target Russian assets in Crimea. But they are a cheaper way to increase Ukraine's long-range strike capabilities.

Russia condemned the possible transfer of GLSDBs as the first reports emerged, saying it would be an "extremely dangerous" escalation of the war.

As ammunition shortages bite Kyiv, and Russia launches a new push along the northeastern frontlines, the bombs will offer more resources for a Ukraine fast approaching two years of all-out war with a diminishing stockpile of long-range weapons.

Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told the media on Tuesday he could not "confirm specific timelines" for the GLSDB, citing operational security.

"We'll defer to Ukraine to talk about any delivery, but we do, as I mentioned, continue to work closely with Ukraine, with our industry partners to ensure that Ukraine receives and is ready to use the capabilities that we're delivering to them and as quickly as possible," he told reporters.

As future aid for Ukraine stalls in Congress, Russia is upping the pressure on a tired Kyiv with a new offensive push. Western analysis suggests Russia has started pushing around the borders of Ukraine's Kharkiv and Luhansk regions while continuing its gruelling attacks on the Donetsk town of Avdiivka.

The head of Ukraine's military intelligence agency, Lt. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, told Ukrainian media on Tuesday that Russia is hoping to reach the Zherebets River, close to the border of Kharkiv and Luhansk, before continuing westward.

Without U.S. lawmakers approving new military aid for Kyiv, "everything that Ukrainians achieved and that we've helped them achieve will be in jeopardy," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a joint press conference with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Monday.

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