‘The proposed sale will improve Ukraine’s capability to meet current and future threats,’ the State Department said.
The U.S. State Department has approved the sale of $373 million worth of glide bomb tail kits and other equipment to Ukraine that will be used on the frontline in the war with Russia.
Kyiv has been given the green light to buy 1,532 Joint Direct Attack Munition-Extended Range (JDAM-ER) guidance tail kits. In a May 5 statement, the State Department said the principal contractor would be Boeing’s defense, space, and security wing, based in St. Louis, Missouri.
The kits convert unguided free-fall munitions—sometimes known as dumb bombs—into smart bombs that can hit their targets even in bad weather.
The JDAMs will be used by Ukraine’s fleet of Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters, but they could also be fitted to Kyiv’s Russian-made Sukhoi Su-27 and MiG-29 jets.
Russia has used glide bombs with great success against Ukrainian frontline positions, and now Kyiv will be able to upgrade its munitions.
“The proposed sale will improve Ukraine’s capability to meet current and future threats by further equipping it to conduct self-defense and regional security missions with a more robust air defense capability,” the State Department said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been making efforts to improve relations with President Donald Trump since their public row in the White House in February 2025.
The State Department said, “This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a partner country that is a force for political stability and economic progress in Europe.”
When the U.S. and Israel launched Operation Epic Fury on Feb. 28, and Iran retaliated with drone attacks on Washington’s allies in the Gulf, Zelenskyy was quick to offer military help to countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates.
Russia, on the other hand, has been cozying up to Tehran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi traveled to Russia on April 27 for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“As you can see, we have always had close consultations with Russia and have had continuous and bilateral consultations on a wide range of issues, especially regional issues,” Araghchi said in a Telegram post on April 27.
In February, Zelenskyy said that the United States had given both Ukraine and Russia a June deadline to reach an agreement to end the war, which began four years ago.
“The Americans are proposing the parties end the war by the beginning of this summer,” Zelenskyy said on Feb. 7.
But peace talks between Russia and Ukraine have stalled in recent weeks.
