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If later included in the latest US military aid package, the GLSDB long-range missile will force Russia to change its strategy. Photos/Illustrations
KIEV – United States of America (US) has responded to the President’s request Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky for a rocket that can strike deep behind the front lines of the conflict that has lasted almost a year with Russia .
Now Russian forces will need to adapt or face potentially disastrous losses.
The new weapon, the Ground Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB), will enable the Ukrainian military to hit targets twice the ranges that can be reached by US-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) rockets. If included as expected in an upcoming arms relief package, the GLSDB’s 151km range would put all of Russia’s eastern supply lines within range, as well as parts of Russian-occupied Crimea.
This would force Russia to move its supplies farther away from the front line, leaving its army more vulnerable and greatly complicating new offensive plans.
“This could slow down (Russia’s offensive) significantly,” said Andriy Zagorodnyuk, Ukraine’s former defense minister.
“Just as HIMARS significantly influenced the course of events, this rocket can influence the course of events even more,” he added as quoted by Reuters, Friday (3/2/2023).
The GLSDB is a GPS-guided glide bomb that can maneuver to hit hard-to-reach targets such as command centers. The missile jointly produced by SAAB AB and Boeing combines the GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) with an M26 rocket motor, both of which are commonly used in the US weapons stockpile.
A source said this missile is not yet compatible with the HIMARS launcher, but the US will provide Ukraine with a new rocket launcher. The GLSDB could be delivered as early as spring 2023, according to documents reviewed by Reuters.
When it first delivered the HIMARS launcher in June, the US supplied the rocket with a range of 77 km. This was a major boost for the Ukrainian military, allowing it to destroy Russian ammunition dumps and weapons storage facilities.
Read: US Denies CIA Boss Offers Putin One-fifth of Ukraine’s Territory to End War
