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9 months ago
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UKRAINE will today receive its first big batch of longer-range missiles that promise to blast Putin targets twice as deep inside Russia.
The imminent arrival of the brand new 100-mile precision bombs follows months of testing by the US military.
The new Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb, co-developed by Boeing and Saab
Reuters
Ukraine will receive its first batch of Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bombs – created by aviation giant Boeing – as soon as today, according to US officials and other sources familiar with the matter.
The war-torn country needs the new bomb to augment its limited supply of 100-mile range Army Tactical Missile System rockets which have already been provided by the US.
An unnamed US official told Politico it is expected to be “a significant capability for Ukraine”.
The official said: “It gives them a deeper strike capability they haven’t had, it complements their long-range fire arsenal.
“It’s just an extra arrow in the quiver that’s gonna allow them to do more.”
Co-developed by Boeing and Saab, the weapon comprises a precision-guided 250lb bomb strapped to a rocket motor that can be fired from various ground launchers.
The “glide-bomb” will allow Ukraine’s military to hit targets at twice the distance the country’s rockets can currently reach.
It was first revealed in November 2022 that the Pentagon was considering a Boeing proposal to supply Ukraine with bombs that would allow Kyiv to strike far behind Russian lines.
And the Biden administration announced in February last year that it would indeed by providing Ukraine with a new longer-range bomb.
But the new weapon needed to be tested by the US military before it could be sent over; a process which took many months.
The final test of the newly-built Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb reportedly involved six rockets and took place at Florida’s Eglin Air Force Base on January 16, after which shipments could begin.
Launchers and dozens of warheads were to be transported to Ukraine via air, someone familiar with the test told Reuters.
It’s long past time to finding creative means to … strike deep and often behind Russian lines.
Tom KarakoSources have said that even the US doesn’t have the game-changing piece of equipment in its inventory.
The bomb’s arrival comes as Ukraine’s stockpiles of artillery and munitions are beginning to dwindle.
Ukraine will be the first country to use it in combat.
An air-launched version of the weapon was created in 2019, but Boeing and Saab did not make a sale until the US decided to donate it to Kyiv as part of an $111billion aid package.
The new glide bombs are much cheaper, smaller, and easier to deploy than the Army Tactical Missile System rockets the US has already provided to Ukraine and which have been depleted by use.
A weapons and security expert at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Tom Karako, told Reuters: “It’s long past time to finding creative means to provide the capability and capacity needed to strike deep and often behind Russian lines.”
Britain is expected to send 200 air defence missiles to Ukraine to help it in its defence and protect it from Russian drones and bombing.
The British ministry of defence confirmed the massive shipment on December 29, as Russia unleashed a sickening barrage of missiles on Ukraine that reportedly killed 28 and left 130 civilians wounded.
A total of 158 missiles hit homes, a maternity hospital, and a shopping centre in what was believed to be the biggest aerial attack on Ukraine since the beginning of the bloody war.
Defence Secretary Grant Shapps wrote on X last month: “The UK is moving rapidly to bolster Ukraine’s air defence, in the wake of Putin’s murderous air strikes.
“Hundreds of British made air defence missiles are being sent to ensure @Ukraine has what it needs to defend itself from Putin’s barbaric bombardment.”
Britain plans to send 200 air defence missiles to Ukraine
Defence Secretary Grant Shapps announced Britain would be bolstering Ukraine’s air defence last month
English (US)