[Goose]

The newly developed "Ground Launched Small Diameter Bombs", or GLSDBs, have made their combat debut. 

Approximately twice the range as GMLRS, ~90 miles, but able to be launched from the same HIMARS or M270 platform, or even something kludged together. As the article points out, the component pieces are found all over NATO stockpiles, so theoretically Europe could pay for/supply these if US aid remains a problem. 

https://www.twz.com/news-features/ground...in-ukraine

Glad they are there, but I think the article is at best significantly over-stating that these weapons are "found all over NATO stockpiles". Looking at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GBU-39_Sma...meter_Bomb It would appear that the only NATO country that literally "bought" any was the Netherlands (603). Italy bought a license to manufacture them for the Italian air force, so they may have a lot. Australia and Israel have a pile of them, but that's not NATO.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M270_Multi...ket_System
The M26 rocket was indeed ubiquitous, but since it's warheads were cluster munitions most nations have destroyed their stocks. I am not sure which (if any) EU nations still have them. From the above:

The M26 rocket and its derivatives were removed from the US Army's active inventory in June 2009, as they did not satisfy a July 2008 Department of Defense policy directive, issued under President George W. Bush, that US cluster munitions that leave more than 1% of submunitions as unexploded ordnance must be destroyed by the end of 2018.[54] (The United States is not a party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which prohibits them).

Fortunately the US retained some (not nearly all) of it's stocks and some have been used in Ukraine with cluster munitions. We can still make GLSDBs from them.

In any case, I suspect that doesn't much matter. NATO can already pay Boeing/Saab to manufacture the units. That doesn't require any US money at all. ITAR approval obviously wouldn't be a problem as Ukraine already has some. I am also pretty sure that these units aren't "MacGyvered" together. There actually is a manufacturing process required. The "inter-stage adapter" is not part of either the GBU-39 or the M26 rocket.  If necessary, Saab could be used as a "conduit" for the sale, as I am sure there are some "shared rights" involved in the joint venture. The EU could also order Patriots for Ukraine for that matter. The problem is that it will take time to build them. There is an order queue.

The article also talks about the INS in the GLSDB being able to still guide the weapon in the presence of GPS jamming. That is true. However JDAMS also have an INS that does the same. Almost all such weapons do, if for no other reason GPS sometimes "drops out" (usually briefly) due to geometry. The GLSDB probably has a newer INS which is "better", but it isn't that much better. The INS won't make them noticeably "better" than JDAMS. I was under the impression that the GLSDB MAY have a more "jam resistant" GPS but the article said nothing to that effect.

[Goose]

The newly developed "Ground Launched Small Diameter Bombs", or GLSDBs, have made their combat debut. 

Approximately twice the range as GMLRS, ~90 miles, but able to be launched from the same HIMARS or M270 platform, or even something kludged together. As the article points out, the component pieces are found all over NATO stockpiles, so theoretically Europe could pay for/supply these if US aid remains a problem. 

https://www.twz.com/news-features/ground...in-ukraine

Glad they are there, but I think the article is at best significantly over-stating that these weapons are "found all over NATO stockpiles". Looking at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GBU-39_Sma...meter_Bomb It would appear that the only NATO country that literally "bought" any was the Netherlands (603). Italy bought a license to manufacture them for the Italian air force, so they may have a lot. Australia and Israel have a pile of them, but that's not NATO.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M270_Multi...ket_System
The M26 rocket was indeed ubiquitous, but since it's warheads were cluster munitions most nations have destroyed their stocks. I am not sure which (if any) EU nations still have them. From the above:

The M26 rocket and its derivatives were removed from the US Army's active inventory in June 2009, as they did not satisfy a July 2008 Department of Defense policy directive, issued under President George W. Bush, that US cluster munitions that leave more than 1% of submunitions as unexploded ordnance must be destroyed by the end of 2018.[54] (The United States is not a party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which prohibits them).

Fortunately the US retained some (not nearly all) of it's stocks and some have been used in Ukraine with cluster munitions. We can still make GLSDBs from them.

In any case, I suspect that doesn't much matter. NATO can already pay Boeing/Saab to manufacture the units. That doesn't require any US money at all. ITAR approval obviously wouldn't be a problem as Ukraine already has some. I am also pretty sure that these units aren't "MacGyvered" together. There actually is a manufacturing process required. The "inter-stage adapter" is not part of either the GBU-39 or the M26 rocket.  If necessary, Saab could be used as a "conduit" for the sale, as I am sure there are some "shared rights" involved in the joint venture. The EU could also order Patriots for Ukraine for that matter. The problem is that it will take time to build them. There is an order queue.

The article also talks about the INS in the GLSDB being able to still guide the weapon in the presence of GPS jamming. That is true. However JDAMS also have an INS that does the same. Almost all such weapons do, if for no other reason GPS sometimes "drops out" (usually briefly) due to geometry. The GLSDB probably has a newer INS which is "better", but it isn't that much better. The INS won't make them noticeably "better" than JDAMS. I was under the impression that the GLSDB MAY have a more "jam resistant" GPS but the article said nothing to that effect.