Saab Selects Engines From Anduril for GLSDBs Used in Ukraine

Saab has selected the American company Anduril Rocket Motor Systems as a supplier of solid rocket engines for high-precision GLSDB (Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb) systems.

This is reported by the official website of Anduril.

The new Anduril engines are to replace the outdated M26 rocket parts currently used to launch the GLSDB, a system that has already been tested in combat, including in Ukraine.

In addition, Anduril offers improved missile performance through the introduction of innovative manufacturing technologies, automation and the use of new suppliers. The new product is a modern, safer and more affordable rocket engine.

According to a statement on the company’s website, the cooperation with Anduril is due to the company’s ability to produce the latest engines quickly, massively and relatively inexpensively.

The development and eligibility tests of new engines are currently underway, and full-scale production is scheduled to begin in 2026. At the same time, the company is investing $75 million to expand its production facilities in McHenry, Mississippi.

When completed in July 2025, the plant will significantly strengthen the industrial base of the United States and allies, ensuring the sustainable production of critical components for long-range weapons.

According to the company, GLSDB, which is actively used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, is considered an effective and affordable alternative to expensive precision-guided weapons systems. The new engines are expected to increase supplies to both the United States and its allies.

Despite the company’s promising statements, the use of the new weapon has revealed significant drawbacks associated with its use in real combat conditions.

In particular, during the CSIS Global Security Forum, William A. LaPlante, the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, said that the main issues with the effective use of the system were related to the active use of electronic warfare by the Russians, as well as to the new tactics of ground use that needed to be finalized.

Nevertheless, the development companies, on behalf of the Pentagon, continued to work on an improved version and eliminate the identified shortcomings. Thus, in March 2025, it became known that the United States was ready to resume supplying Ukraine with high-precision aircraft munitions with the GLSDB rocket engine after their modernization, which took into account the shortcomings identified during the use against the Russian occupation forces.

Reuters reports that 19 GLSDB missiles were tested in the last weeks of March 2025 to assess the effectiveness of the upgrades. According to persons familiar with the situation, part of the modernization involved strengthening internal connections in the munition’s design to improve its reliability.