While Operation Epic Fury continues against Iran, various reports have emerged indicating that the U.S. is pushing its stock of JASSM cruise missiles to the limit, something that is mainly being observed through the redeployment of inventories from different parts of the world toward the area controlled by Central Command (CENTCOM). Among them, the outlet Bloomberg claims to have consulted sources familiar with the matter, who detailed that missiles previously positioned in the Pacific and within the United States would now be sent to U.S. bases closer to Iran and in the United Kingdom to facilitate their use in combat.
According to that report, only about 425 JASSM-ER missiles deployed in other parts of the world would remain once the transfer to the CENTCOM area is completed, out of a total of 2,300 units existing prior to the outbreak of operations against Iran. In concrete terms, the consulted source states that around two-thirds of the existing JASSM inventory has been allocated to the war against Iran, which will generate a significant challenge for U.S. industry in replenishing arsenals in the future.
Moreover, the anonymous sources cited in the report indicated that U.S. forces used up to 1,000 JASSM-ER missiles in the first four weeks of the war, which should be considered alongside other missiles used during the operation to capture Nicolás Maduro earlier in the year in order to assess the current inventory. The use of this type of weapon would have occurred mainly through B-1B and B-52 bombers, as well as other fighters compatible with it, although there is no official confirmation from the Department of Defense regarding these matters.
It should be noted, especially based on the latter, that the figures mentioned so far have generated strong debate on social media among OSINT sources, think tanks, and observers, who do not necessarily seem to agree on them. As an illustrative example, the figure provided by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) stands at around 786 JASSM missiles fired, without specifying whether they are exclusively from the extended-range ER variant, which does not appear to be the case given the existence of the original version of the missile that entered service in 2018.
On the other hand, based on previous documents, it has also been suggested that even if 1,000 JASSM-ER missiles were fired, the U.S. would not only have 1,300 units remaining, but rather that this figure would be about 600 additional units above that number. In detail, some analysts point to a total of 2,936 JASSM-ER missiles prior to Operation Epic Fury, complemented by another 2,034 standard JASSM missiles, so the question of how close to the limit U.S. reserves are remains a matter of discussion.
Beyond these details, which still require further official clarification, it should be considered that continued use of JASSM missiles at the same pace as in the first month of the conflict is not expected. This is because Iran’s deployed air defenses would already have been significantly degraded, opening the door to a more intensive use of weapons with lower performance than these advanced missiles (especially the extended-range ones) by U.S. aircraft.
*Images used for illustrative purposes
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