Preparing for future conflicts with well-equipped adversaries, the Pentagon awarded a $122.6 million contract to increase production of the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM-ER) and Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) cruise missiles on March 14. That increased production will improve the capacity of U.S. forces in the Pacific in the coming years, but existing inventories of JASSM-ER offer the opportunity to better arm Israel now, thereby bolstering deterrence and U.S. diplomacy toward Iran.
The recently awarded contract is to “procure tooling and test equipment,” which will increase production quantities of the missiles, although it may be several years before the increases are fully realized. The good news is that the Pentagon has procured an average of roughly 500 JASSM-ERs yearly for the past five years, with 550 requested in the president’s FY 25 budget. That means the United States already has a significant inventory.
JASSM-ER is a low-observable (stealthy), subsonic, air-launched cruise missile with a disclosed range of at least 500 nautical miles. JASSM, an older variant, has similar characteristics but only has a range of around 200 nautical miles. Unlike LRASM, which is optimized for the anti-ship mission, JASSM-ER is intended for high-value, heavily defended ground targets. It carries a 1,000-pound-class multi-purpose, hardened blast frag penetrator warhead with an imaging infrared seeker for terminal guidance.
To be sure, Israel has already demonstrated an ability to conduct strikes on Iranian territory. After destroying an S-300 radar in April 2024, Israel conducted a larger-scale strike in October 2024 that reportedly damaged or destroyed ballistic missile fuel production, S-300 radars, as well as several other air defense and military sites. A nuclear weapons research facility used to design explosives was also struck.
The strike reportedly involved around 100 aircraft, with some Israeli F-35Is apparently entering Iranian airspace for a limited time. The damage to Iran’s prized S-300s, acquired from Russia beginning in 2016, was a serious blow to Iran’s integrated air defense system. However, Iran still possesses substantial numbers of other air defense systems, including the Bavar-373 and the Khordad 15, and has been rebuilding its domestic air defenses since the strike. Future strikes, especially if at a larger scale, will require sufficient quantities of specialized munitions.
In the October strike, Israel used air-launched ballistic missiles (ALBM) to strike at least a portion of the targets. That was likely because ALBMs can strike targets from standoff ranges while being very difficult to intercept due to their high speed. They are particularly useful for striking air defense systems to clear a path for aircraft or other less survivable munitions. Israel possesses a variety of ALBMs, including Rampage, Rocks, and Air Lora. However, Israel likely has a limited stockpile of these weapons, and air-launched cruise missiles like JASSM-ER could provide additional capacity.
Deeper, more diversified missile magazines would allow Israel to strike a larger number of targets from standoff range, potentially decreasing the number of aircraft that would need to enter Iranian airspace. Even the much shorter-ranged JASSM could be used to strike targets near the Iran-Iraq border, clearing a path for other munitions or aircraft. And while JASSM-ER travels significantly slower than ballistic missiles, its stealth characteristics reduce the probability of interception by air defenses.
Cruise missiles like JASSM-ER typically have higher payload-to-weight ratios than ballistic missiles, meaning they can deliver more explosives per munition. This could potentially reduce the number of munitions needed to destroy certain targets, a critical factor when considering Israel’s limited number of strike aircraft.
To be clear, JASSM-ER cannot destroy hardened, deeply buried targets (HDBTs) associated with Iran’s nuclear program, such as the sites at Fordow and Natanz. Israel could, however, launch JASSM-ER from fighter aircraft operating outside of Iran and strike soft and hard (not deeply buried) targets in much of the country. Targets could include command, control, communication, air defense, and radar sites. That would help clear the path for other aircraft to conduct subsequent and repeated attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites. JASSM-ER could also be used to strike other targets associated with Iran’s nuclear program, including sites associated with weaponization activities, ballistic missile storage sites, and production facilities.
President Trump is pursuing a maximum pressure campaign against Iran. That effort should focus on “permanent dismantlement of Tehran’s nuclear weapons enterprise,” as our Foundation for Defense of Democracies colleagues argued in a new report.
If sufficient pressure is not applied to the regime, there is an even lower chance the regime will ever negotiate in good faith. One way to apply additional pressure on Tehran is to provide Israel with the means it needs to destroy Iran’s nuclear program.
As a first step in a more assertive security assistance campaign focused on countering Iran’s nuclear program, Israel should request the JASSM-ER from the United States, and the Trump administration should provide it in sufficient quantities without delay. That will bolster American diplomacy, reinforce deterrence, and help begin to ensure Israel has the means to prevent the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism from acquiring the world’s most dangerous weapon should deterrence fail.
https://www.realclearwire.com/articles/2025/03/21/america_needs_israel_to_have_the_jassm-er_1099030.html
