According to the Pentagon, Ukraine will have to wait until 2024 before it receives the first large batch of GLSDBs, which the United States has adapted to strike at a distance of almost 160 km. This was reported by Reuters, citing interlocutors familiar with the terms.

The article notes that Ukraine needs GLSDBs to augment the limited number of ATACMS missiles with a 100-mile range sent by the United States.

"This will allow the Ukrainian military to hit targets at twice the distance that can be reached by missiles currently fired from the US-supplied HIMARS. This will force Russia to move its stockpiles even further from the front line," the agency writes.

However, interlocutors with knowledge of the current timeline said that the delivery to the United States by Boeing, the main contractor for the GLSDB, will take place in late December, after which it will take several more months of testing before being sent to Ukraine.

A Pentagon official said, the agency added, that they "expect to deliver this key capability in early 2024 after successful verification," which is another deadline for testing.

Since the contract to begin production of the GLSDB was signed in March, according to a Pentagon statement to Reuters, deliveries have been pushed back to the end of the year. The production required materials provided by the government, so the signing of the contract delayed its start.