Ukraine could hit Russia: US is considering supplying long-range weapons

So far, a key condition for the delivery of US arms to Ukraine is that they do not hit Russian territory.

Ukraine could hit Russia: US is considering supplying long-range weapons

So far, a key condition for the delivery of US arms to Ukraine is that they do not hit Russian territory. According to an insider report, this could now change. A weapon system manufactured by Boeing could hit Russian retreat areas both precisely and cheaply.

According to insiders, the US is considering supplying Ukraine with weapons that could reach far into Russian territory. The aerospace and armaments group Boeing has brought its GLSDB (Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb) system into play, in which small, cheap precision bombs can be mounted on numerous existing missiles, according to industry circles.

However, it is one of about six plans for how Ukraine could be supplied with additional weapons. Boeing's system could be delivered from spring 2023. It combines the GBU-39 bomb with M26 missiles, both of which are in large numbers in US stockpiles. The range of this system is 150 kilometers and has been developed by Boeing together with Saab since 2019.

The M26 rocket motor is relatively plentiful and the GBU-39 costs about $40,000 each, making the finished GLSDB inexpensive and its major components readily available. Although gun manufacturers are struggling with demand, these factors make it possible to ship the guns by early 2023, albeit at a low production rate.

Neither Boeing nor the US Department of Defense wanted to comment on the information. The longer the Russian war against Ukraine lasts, the more weapons Ukraine needs. The country is already receiving HIMARS missiles from the USA. "We need weapons to win this war," Ukraine's ambassador to Germany, Oleksii Makeiev, told ZDF.

Although the United States has turned down requests for the 297 km (185-mile) range ATACMS missile, the GLSDB's 150 km (94-mile) range would allow Ukraine to hit valuable military targets previously unreachable , and help her continue her counterattacks by disrupting Russian retreats.