US postpones delivery of long-range guided bombs to Ukraine until 2024

Ukraine will have to wait until next year to receive the first large batch of long-range GPS-guided bombs produced by Boeing's GLSDB, which the United States has adapted to strike at a distance of almost 160 km.

This was reported to Reuters by informed sources from the US Department of Defense.

According to an unnamed Pentagon official, the transfer of these weapons is expected in early 2024 after successful testing.

According to the sources, the GLSDB will be delivered by Boeing at the end of December, followed by several months of testing before it is sent to Ukraine.

As the contract to start production of the GLSDB was signed in March 2023, the Pentagon told Reuters, the delivery was postponed to the end of the year. The production required materials provided by the government, so its start had to be postponed.

The GLSDB is supposed to allow the Ukrainian military to hit targets at twice the distance of the missiles they currently fire from the US-supplied Highly Mobile Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and force Russia to move its logistics further away from the front line.

The GLSDB is GPS-guided, can overcome electronic jamming, can be used in all weather conditions, and can also be used against armored vehicles.

Author - Olena Madiak, 30/11/2023