The United States is moving the vast majority of its JASSM-ER cruise missiles to the Middle East to continue its military campaign against Iran. According to available data, after the completion of the transfer to the entire globe, only about 425 units will remain from the pre-war stock of 2,300 units, Bloomberg reports, citing a source directly related to this issue..
JASSM-ER (Joint Air-to-Surface Missile - Extended Range) is a high-precision air-to-ground cruise missile capable of hitting targets at a distance of over 965 kilometers. Its main advantage is its stealth (“stealth”): the missile is designed specifically to destroy well-protected objects without the carrier aircraft entering the enemy’s air defense coverage area. The cost of one rocket is about $1.5 million. It is this type of weapon that is considered one of the key ones in a possible conflict with China for control of the Pacific region..
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Transfer from all over the world.
The order to remove missiles from the Pacific stockpile was given at the end of March. Missiles from sites in the US and other countries are being moved to US Central Command (CENTCOM) bases and the British base RAF Fairford. After completion of the transfer, only about 425 JASSM-ER missiles will remain to protect US interests in the Pacific region, that is, in fact, to contain China.. This is approximately enough for one combat mission of 17 B-1B bombers.. About 75 more units were declared “defective” due to damage or technical faults.
Together with an earlier (and shorter-range) version, the JASSM missile with a range of about 400 km, the United States has already used up or reserved about two-thirds of its total stockpile of this class of weapons.
Crazy expense.
In the first four weeks of the war with Iran, which began on February 28, US troops fired more than a thousand JASSM-ER missiles. For comparison: during the operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, only 47 of the same missiles were used.
In addition to JASSM-ER, Tomahawk cruise missiles are actively used during the war: according to informed sources, during the four weeks of the war with Iran, the United States used more than 850 units. According to various estimates, before the outbreak of hostilities there were between three and four thousand of them in warehouses.. It is important to understand that RTX Corp.. produces only about 100 new Tomahawks per year. It is not difficult to calculate how long it will take to replenish spent ammunition at current production rates.
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Aviation continues to suffer losses.
Despite US and Israeli statements about the destruction of a significant part of the Iranian air defense system, coalition aircraft continue to suffer losses: an American F-15E fighter was shot down, and then an A-10 attack aircraft and two rescue helicopters were hit by Iranian fire. Iran destroyed more than 12 American MQ-9 attack drones during the war.
The Iranian side fired over 1,600 ballistic missiles at countries in the region and about 4,000 Shahed-type kamikaze drones. To repel ballistic threats alone, at least 3,200 interceptor missiles are required, which creates an acute shortage of air defense systems for the United States and its allies.
Production crisis.
The rate of reserve replenishment is critically low:.
JASSM-ER: Lockheed Martin produces 396 missiles per year at planned capacity and a maximum of 860 units per year with a complete reorientation of the production line.
Patriot PAC-3: 650 units per year. Lockheed Martin intends to increase production to 2,000 units per year by 2030.
THAAD: 96 units per year. It is planned to increase to 400 units, but also within several years.
Tomahawk: about 100 new missiles per year plus modernization of some obsolete missiles.
The US has invested in the production of more than 6,200 JASSM missiles since 2009, but production of the basic version for American use was discontinued about a decade ago..
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Trump's latest threats.
US President Donald Trump said that " At the same time, American ground forces were deployed to the region: marines and paratroopers. Analysts are already discussing a possible operation to seize Kharg Island, Iran's main oil terminal in the Persian Gulf..
Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Cain said the United States has begun flying B-52 bombers directly over Iran, which means the airspace is safe enough to use cheaper and more widespread JDAM precision bombs.. However, analysts point out that the fact that the slow-moving, older B-52s are just now beginning to fly over Iran “raises questions about the extent to which the United States remains reliant on long-range strikes.”. That is, from those very expensive missiles, the reserves of which are rapidly dwindling.
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