US Department of Defense: Provides new rockets to Ukraine
・The new rocket (GLSDB) has a range of 150 km.
・GLSDB was jointly developed by Boeing and Saab
We provide a summary of articles published in Kyodo News.
US political media: “Politico”
On January 30th, the United States announced that it would provide Ukraine with a new type of rocket.
Providing a new type of rocket (GLSDB):
Ground-launched small diameter projectiles (GLSDB) with a range of 150 km arrive in Ukraine.
Ukrainian army ammunition shortage:
The Ukrainian military is facing a serious shortage of shells. Battles on the front lines are at a standstill.
GLSDB is effective in attacking storage facilities and command bases behind the 7 front lines.
New type rocket GLSDB
A ground-launched weapon that combines the warhead of a rocket cannon with a small-diameter bomb.
It was jointly developed by Boeing of the United States and Saab of Sweden.
Can also be fired from HIMARS:
It can also be fired from the Ukrainian military’s High Mobility Rocket Artillery System (HIMARS).
At the earliest, it will arrive in Ukraine on January 31st.
Long-range surface-to-surface missile ATACMS:
Last fall, the United States provided Ukraine with ATACMS long-range surface-to-surface missiles.
The maximum range is 300km. The length provided is believed to be 160km.
The number of missile ATACMS is small.This is supplemented by GLSDB.
Department of Defense announcement:
In February last year, the Department of Defense already announced the provision of GLSDB.
The test launch of a new rocket will take some time before it can actually be delivered.
Currently, Republicans in Congress are reluctant to approve additional funding.
This GLSDB grant will be implemented using previously approved funding lines.
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/5dc6c4089ccfbd5249b83b5c085193fb54aa8a70
New US-made longer-range bomb expected to arrive Wednesday in Ukraine
POLITICO
The Pentagon has successfully tested：
a new long-range precision bomb for Ukraine that is expected to arrive on the battlefield as soon as Wednesday,
Ukraine will receive its first batch of Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bombs,
a brand new long-range weapon made by Boeing that even the U.S. doesn’t have in its inventory,
The new bomb can travel about 90 miles：
is expected to be “a significant capability for Ukraine,” said one of the U.S. officials.
The weapon, co-developed by Boeing and Saab：
is made up of a precision-guided 250-pound bomb strapped to a rocket motor and fired from various ground launchers.
１．The U.S. military has a similar version of the bomb that is air-launched,
２．but a ground-launched version does not yet exist in U.S. inventory.
The extended range：
as Ukraine looks for new ways to hit Russian forces and infrastructure behind the front lines.
The bomb will join other long-range weapons：
given to Ukraine over the past year that have allowed its troops to hit Russian logistics and naval sites in Crimea.
The Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB):
Boeing and Saab developed to provide long-range, ground-to-ground precision fires, is close to lining up its first customer,
Artillery systems have received significant attention in recent months because of the important role they have played in Ukraine’s resistance to Russia’s invasion.
Boeing and Saab:
which have been marketing the GLSDB for years, indicated at the 2019 Association of the United States Army (AUSA) conference that the weapon was ready to begin production.
Saab announced in November 2021:
２Norwegian companies, Nammo and Nordic Shelter, had joined the GLSDB team, providing expertise on rocket motors and launchers, respectively.
The GLSDB:
combines an M26 ground-based rocket motor from the Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) with Boeing’s air-launched GBU-39B SDB.
According to Saab:
It has a range of 150 km (93 mile), can attack both stationary and moving targets,
and can be “ground-launched from a wide variety of launchers and configurations”,
Saab plans to release its fourth-quarter results in February 2023.