[ワシントン ２８日 ロイター] – The Pentagon is considering Boeing’s proposal to supply Ukraine with cheap small precision bombs mounted on rockets, which it has in abundance. With US and allied stockpiles of weapons dwindling and struggling to meet growing demand, the plan would allow Ukraine to strike far behind the Russian front.
Ukraine needs more sophisticated weapons as the war drags on. Industry sources say Boeing’s proposed system, called GLSDB (ground-launched small-diameter bomb), is part of a new munitions program for Ukraine and the United States’ Eastern European allies.
The GLSDB could be delivered as early as spring 2023, according to documents seen by Reuters and three sources familiar with the plan. It combines the GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) with the M26 rocket engine, both of which are well supplied in the USA.
The United States denies the request for an ATACMS missile with a range of 297 kilometers, but the GLSDB with a range of 150 kilometers could allow Ukraine to strike key military targets hitherto out of range and destroy Russia’s rear.
GLSDB has been jointly developed and produced by Swedish aerospace and defense giant Saab and Boeing since 2019.
A Boeing spokesman declined to comment.
A Pentagon spokesman declined to comment on providing Ukraine with “special capabilities” but said the United States and its allies were “identifying and reviewing the most appropriate systems” to support Ukraine.
