Direct proof of use
The air-launched GBU-39/B Small Diameter Bomb I was documented in Ukrainian combat use in May 2024. The War Zone reported on May 24, 2024 that a U.S. official confirmed Ukraine had used the air-launched GBU-39 in combat, separating that claim from earlier confirmed deliveries of the Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb.
The Washington Post reported the same day, citing confidential Ukrainian assessments, that Ukraine had received air-launched GBU-39 weapons in November 2023 and that the weapon had proved comparatively resilient to Russian jamming. That reporting treated the air-dropped GBU-39 separately from the HIMARS-fired GLSDB variant.
Sources: TWZ Ukraine Air-Launched SDB Report, Washington Post Russian Jamming Report
Timeline of documented Ukrainian use
Public evidence built from transfer reporting to operational imagery. The Washington Post placed the first Ukrainian receipt of air-launched GBU-39 weapons in November 2023, while The War Zone reported U.S. confirmation of combat use in May 2024.
After that disclosure, Ukrainian aircraft integration became visible in open reporting. Defense Express described July 2024 photographs of MiG-29 carriage on BRU-61/A racks, and The War Zone later analyzed cockpit footage of a Ukrainian Su-27 releasing a four-bomb GBU-39 salvo toward a Russian target in December 2024.
Sources: Washington Post Russian Jamming Report, TWZ Ukraine Air-Launched SDB Report, Defense Express MiG-29 SDB Photo Report, TWZ Su-27 GBU-39 Cockpit Video Report
Operational role
In Ukrainian service, the GBU-39/B functioned as a standoff precision glide bomb carried by adapted Soviet-era tactical aircraft. The reported use emphasized attacks on Russian targets from outside immediate short-range air-defense exposure, while the aircraft used pop-up or loft-style release profiles to extend reach from low-altitude approaches.
The sources distinguish air-launched GBU-39 use from GLSDB. Both systems use the Small Diameter Bomb body, but Ukraine's reported air-launched use came from aircraft such as MiG-29 and Su-27 fighters, while GLSDB was the ground-launched adaptation fired from rocket artillery.
Sources: TWZ Su-27 GBU-39 Cockpit Video Report, Defense Express MiG-29 SDB Photo Report, TWZ Ukraine Air-Launched SDB Report
Supply context
The U.S. Department of Defense announced on September 30, 2024 that Boeing received a ceiling $6.9 billion contract for Small Diameter Bomb Increment One production and delivery, including Foreign Military Sales to Ukraine, Japan, and Bulgaria. That contract supports continued supply context but does not by itself document a specific battlefield strike.
The delivery and use record therefore rests on separate evidence categories: official contract data for supply, Washington Post reporting for Ukrainian receipt and performance assessments, TWZ reporting for U.S.-official confirmation of combat use, and later imagery-based reporting for aircraft integration.
Sources: DOD September 2024 SDB Contract, Washington Post Russian Jamming Report, TWZ Ukraine Air-Launched SDB Report, Defense Express MiG-29 SDB Photo Report, TWZ Su-27 GBU-39 Cockpit Video Report
