Anastasia Gorbacheva15:05, 03.09.24
It is noted that delivery will take several months.
The US is close to an agreement to supply Ukraine with long-range cruise missiles that could hit Russia. Kyiv will have to wait a few months for the US to resolve technical issues before delivery.
Reuters writes that the inclusion of Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles (JASSM) in the weapons package could be announced as early as this fall, although a final decision has not yet been made .
Sending JASSM to Ukraine could significantly change the strategic landscape of the war, as Russia will be within range of powerful precision-guided munitions.
Military analysts say the deployment of JASSM could push back Russian staging areas and supply depots by hundreds of kilometers, seriously complicating Russia’s ability to sustain offensive operations and potentially giving Ukraine a strategic advantage.
Launching missiles from points near Ukraine’s northern border with Russia could allow them to hit military targets in Voronezh and Bryansk. In the south, dropping them near the front line could hit airfields or naval facilities in Crimea.
Until now, JASSMs have only been integrated into American-designed aircraft. Eventually, Ukraine will have several dozen F-16s, each capable of carrying two cruise missiles.
One U.S. official said efforts were underway to make the missile suitable for use on non-Western fighters in Ukraine’s inventory, which include Soviet-era MiG-29, Su-24 and Su-27 fighters.
Ukraine’s need for more powerful weapons is growing as it continues to come under intense pressure from Russian forces on its eastern front.
Providing Ukraine with JASSM missiles would put pressure on Washington to lift restrictions on the use of American weapons to strike Russia, a congressional official said.
JASSM missiles – what is known about them
Older models of Lockheed Martin Corp’s JASSM have a range of about 230 miles (370 kilometers). The missiles, about 14 feet (4 meters) long, are difficult to detect by radar. They can also fly close to the ground and can be programmed to take winding routes to evade air defenses. There is also a longer-range JASSM missile that can fly more than 500 miles.
Each JASSM is armed with a large 1,000-pound warhead, but unlike the Storm Shadow and SCALP missiles, it is not designed to attack bunkers. The latest versions cost about $1 million each.
Guidance is provided by signals from the Global Positioning System (GPS) and an inertial navigation system. As the missile approaches its target, an infrared seeker helps guide it to the point of impact with an accuracy of about 10 feet (3 m).
Germany plans to buy JASSM-ER missiles
The German Air Force is ordering 75 JASSM-ER cruise missiles for the new F-35 fighter jet. The purchase price for the entire aircraft package, including weapons, is €8 billion. Although several air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles have already been ordered along with the F-35, the ordering process for the JASSM cruise missiles has been delayed.
Military expert Oleg Katkov believes that if Germany purchases JASSM-ER missiles , there is a possibility of transferring such missiles to Ukraine in the future.
(C)UNIAN 2024
“Kyiv will have to wait a few months for the US to resolve technical issues before delivery.”
Since when has cowardice been classed as a technical issue? In a few months the Biden appeasement gang will be out of it, to be replaced with god knows what.
What’s killing me is the ATACMS deliveries were in the legislation with the $61B. Of course the readers here expected Bidenov to come up with some loophole preventing Ukraine from using them effectively but also the administration was required to report back to Congress if there was any reason to prevent the usage of the ATACMS. Let’s see the report.