Russians show wreckage of a munition similar to GLSDB
14 February, 2024 Debris that looks like a GLSDB jet gliding bomb. Freeze frame from the video of the Russians The Russians demonstrated the wreckage of the munition similar to a GLSDB jet glide bomb.
Militarnyi reports on this with reference to the Russian resources. The Russians claim that this ammunition was used on February 13 against a target near Kreminna in the Luhansk region. In support of this, they demonstrate the surface actuator, located in the tail section of the munition, and the wing elements of the control and gliding module.
It should be noted that there are no official comments from representatives of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the use of this munition.
At the end of January, Militarnyi reported, citing Politico, that GLSDB had been sent to Ukraine. "As expected, GLSDB will arrive on the battlefield on Wednesday (January 31 - ed.)," the statement noted. Boeing first approached the U.S. government with a request to purchase and ship such munitions to Ukraine in 2022.
View of the GLSDB surface actuator.
Photo from open sources
During 2022-2023, the Western press voiced various timelines for the transfer of the GLSDB to the Ukrainian Defense Forces, but these assumptions were not true. In December 2023, it was reported that Boeing was preparing to transfer these bombs to the United States, after which they were to be tested and shipped to Ukraine.
GLSDB
GLSDB (Ground Launched Small Diameter Bomb) uses two battle-proven systems that make it possible to quickly hit a variety of targets at any angle at a significant distance. The history of GLSDB begins with Boeing GBU-39 guided bombs, the first in the Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) family.
A reduced GLSDB model at the 2022 AUSA show.
Photo credits: Aaron-Matthew Lariosa
The design of the bomb has a wing that unfolds in flight, which makes it possible to significantly increase the range of target destruction. The M26 rocket motor was selected for the bomb, which is used to launch ammunition from the M142 HIMARS and M270. In fact, the GLSDB is a gliding bomb with a solid rocket motor.
The maximum range of GLSDB bombs can reach 150 kilometers.