- US-provided glide bombs are struggling against Russian electronic jamming in Ukraine.
- Ukraine received the Boeing-made bombs in February in the hopes of hitting longer-range targets.
- But Russian electronic warfare has blunted the effectiveness of the US-supplied munitions.
US-provided glide bombs are struggling against sophisticated Russian electronic jamming in Ukraine, Reuters reported.
The Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb, or GLSDB, is a relatively new guided bomb with a range of 100 miles, thanks to small wings that extend from its body.
Ukraine received the bombs in early February after months of requesting long-range munitions and in the hopes of striking distant, strategic targets in places like Crimea.
But their guidance systems are running into Russian jamming, causing many of the launches to miss their targets, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The GLSDB's developers, Boeing and Saab, have previously touted its high precision combined with its longer range.
In 2022, marketing materials for the bomb said that its navigation system is "supported by a highly jamming resistance GPS."
Representatives for Boeing didn't reply to Reuters and did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment, sent outside of working hours. Saab also did not immediately respond to BI.
Russia's advanced electronic warfare capabilities have proved a growing headache for Ukraine's munitions during the war.
Jamming works by overwhelming a device's GPS signal with stronger, false signals, disrupting its navigation.
In late April, William LaPlante, the US undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, discussed a US-supplied precision weapon that had suffered failings in Ukraine, in part because of electronic warfare.
He didn't name the weapon, but Defense One reported that it was likely the GLSDB.
Russian jamming has blunted the impact of several weapons that were initially highly effective in Ukraine, including the HIMARS-launched Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System, or GMLRS, and Joint Direct Attack Munitions, or JDAMS.
In March, reports emerged that the efficiency of GPS-guided Excalibur artillery shells had also been vastly reduced by Russia's evolving electronic warfare systems.
Jamming is also a highly inexpensive tactic — the software is available relatively cheaply and can help to take out munitions costing tens of thousands of dollars, Defense One reported.
Experts have warned that Russia's capabilities in this increasingly vital area now far exceed those of the US.
