Russian armed forces operating in Ukraine on Tuesday shot down a GLSDB guided projectile, a self-powered “smart bomb” that the United States has supplied to Ukraine. It is the first time that Russian troops claim to have intercepted one of the weapons that can double the range of fire of the Ukrainian forces in the future counteroffensive that they have been announcing for some time.
The United States announced the supply of this type of weapon to Ukraine last January. GLSDB (Ground Launched Small Diameter Bomb) projectiles have been jointly developed by Boeing (USA) and the Saab group (Sweden), which added a rocket motor to the bomb and adapted it so that it can be launched from a Himars system.
This ammunition can be guided thanks to the GPS system and has high precision. In addition, it is capable of small maneuvers, changing the flight path. It can hit targets out to 150km, almost double the range of the 80km shells currently used by Ukrainian troops.
“Air defense media intercepted 18 Himars rockets and one GLSDB guided missile in the last 24 hours,” the Russian Defense Ministry explained in its daily report. He did not detail, however, where it happened.
Ukraine had long wanted to receive this type of weaponry in order to reach Russian command centers, their supply lines and other targets such as ammunition depots behind the front line. They also need it for their announced counteroffensive to be effective and allow them to recover the territory won by the Russians.
The arrival of Himars systems, in June 2022, has already made a difference. The 80-kilometer range allowed Ukraine to hit the Russian rear and launch last fall’s counteroffensives, which recaptured large territories in the east and northeast of the country.
Dimitri Rogozin, former director general of Roscosmos and head of the “Tsarkie Volki” special team of military advisers, was quoted as saying by the National News Service that the GLSDB bombs are a serious threat as they are difficult to detect and intercept.
In Russia they have warned that with this technology the Ukrainians could reach the Crimean peninsula. When the US announced that it would include these types of weapons in the aid package for Kyiv, Sergei Tsekov, a senator in Moscow for Crimea, assured that this territory is well protected against Western weapons, reports the Life portal.
Military expert Alexei Leonkov assures Ría Nóvosti that Russia could counter this munition using various anti-aircraft defense systems and artillery, such as Tor-M2 and Pantsir-C1.
