spring deliveries
The Pentagon is considering a proposal by Boeing that calls for sending “cheap, small, precision-guided bombs” to hit a target within 100 miles (about 161 km) of Ukraine. informs Reuters.
Inexpensive, small, precision-guided bombs could be placed on “missiles in abundance” in Kiev, according to the agency. This would allow Ukraine to “attack far behind Russian lines”. The article says Boeing’s initiative came “as the West struggles to meet Ukraine’s demand for more weapons.”
“US and allied military stocks are dwindling, and Ukraine faces an increasing need for more advanced weapons as the war drags on. The system Boeing proposes, called the Small Diameter Launched Ground Bomb (GLSDB), is one of nearly half a dozen plans to launch new munitions for Ukraine and the US’s Eastern European allies.
Reuters reporters stated that the GLSDB system “could be delivered to Ukraine in the spring of 2023”, citing documents and words from three sources in the hands of the editors. It was noted that the system combines the GBU-39 small-bore bomb (SDB) “widely distributed in US stockpiles” and the M26 rocket engine.
Tom Karako, a weapons and security expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told the publication that the US wants to provide Kiev with the largest number of systems “at low cost”.
At the same time, he noted that the United States’ own stockpiles of weapons were depleted: “They now have fewer weapons than they would like to have on hand if they need to contain the conflict with China.”
cheap bombs
The authors of the material said that the GLSDB systems were manufactured by Boeing in conjunction with the Swedish aerospace company Saab AB. Precision bombs have been developed since 2019.
“According to Boeing’s proposal to the US European Command, which controls arms supplies to Ukraine, the main components of the GLSDB will come from existing US warehouses,” Reuters said.
According to the agency, the United States has “relatively” M26 rocket engines, and the GBU-39 bombs cost about $40,000 each, which “makes a ready-made GLSDB inexpensive.”
Citing the Saab AB website, the authors of the material added that the GLSDB system is controlled by GPS, “can overcome some electronic interference and can be used in all weather conditions.” These bombs can be used against armored vehicles.
“The GBU-39, which will act as a GLSDB warhead, has small folding wings that allow it to fly over 100 km when dropped from an aircraft and hit targets up to 3 feet (about 100 centimeters – socialbites.ca) in diameter. ‘ says the text.
Additional HIMARS production
The agency also learned that at the Arkansas plant, Lockheed Martin “doubled its efforts to meet the growing demand for mobile rocket launchers known as HIMARS.”
#1 U.S. Defense Contractor Tackles Supply Chain and Workforce Shortages, Doubling Production to 96 Launchers per Year
According to the publication, Lockheed Martin has posted more than 15 vacancies related to HIMARS production on its website, including engineers and analysts.
But despite the growing demand, Lockheed Martin’s chief financial officer told Reuters in July that he did not expect any significant revenue from Ukraine until 2024.
On November 25, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that NATO countries had significantly increased the production of Soviet-style weapons and ammunition in Eastern Europe that Kiev needed.