US to send Ukraine Boeing’s ground-launched, GPS-guided bombs
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Patriot missile support equipment will also be part of the latest package of US arms for Ukraine.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON - A new ground-launched, bomb-tipped rocket to be ordered from Boeing will be part of the latest package of US arms for Ukraine scheduled to be announced on Friday by the White House and Pentagon, officials said.
The long-range hybrid weapon combines two proven devices – an Air Force Small-Diameter Bomb guided by the Global Positioning System (GPS) that is currently in wide use and a US Army rocket already being operated by Ukraine’s forces.
Like some other equipment provided by the United States and its allies, it will not be deployed in Ukraine any time soon – an industry official said it would take about nine months for the first deliveries once the US Air Force issues a contract.
Funding for the precision-guided rockets would be pulled from the US$1.75 billion (S$2.3 billion) in the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, expected to be announced on Friday.
No more than US$200 million would be allocated to the Boeing weapon initially, according to one of the officials, who like others asked not to be identified in advance of the weapons announcement.
An additional US$475 million in authority to draw down existing Defence Department stockpiles for Ukraine was also set to be announced on Friday, including additional Claymore anti-personnel mines, winter parkas, GPS-guided 155mm Excalibur rounds, Patriot missile support equipment and Mk 153 shoulder-fired rocket launchers, according to a US official familiar with the list. Items in a drawdown generally can be provided much more quickly.
Boeing’s new bomb-tipped rocket has been tested three times since 2015 in partnership with Saab of Sweden.
In an exercise, it flew more than 130km and hit a target within 102cm of its GPS goal, according to an industry official familiar with the results. That is roughly double the range of the current rockets fired from Himars launchers that have become a prized asset for Ukrainian forces.
Boeing said this order would mark the first sale of the weapon. Reuters reported earlier that the bombs were expected to be included in the package for Ukraine.
The US Air Force introduced the 113kg GPS-guided Small-Diameter Bomb in 2006. The new Boeing-Saab weapon is designed such that after being launched from a Himars unit, the bomb would separate from the rocket in flight, sprout mini-wings and fly to its GPS-identified target, according to the industry official. BLOOMBERG
