Three times more powerful than ATACMS: Biden is preparing to arm Ukraine with long-range cruise missiles JASSM
Politico, for its part, reports that the United States is preparing to arm Ukraine with truly long-range JASSM cruise missiles, three times longer in range than the longest-range missiles currently in service with the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The Joe Biden administration admitted the reality of the start of such deliveries and confirmed the discussion of the issue with the Pentagon.
JASSM is an air-launched missile that can be equipped on American F-16 fighters transferred to Ukraine, sources close to the White House said. According to them, the Pentagon is “already working with Ukraine on technical issues,” including restrictions on the transfer of “sensitive technologies.” JASSM remained the last missile in “a long line of modern weapons that were once considered prohibited from transfer to Ukraine.
The publication notes that a final decision on sending the missile has not yet been made, but according to sources close to the agency, the Biden administration is currently working through the complex details. These issues include reviews of sensitive technology transfers and ensuring that Ukrainian aircraft are capable of launching a 2400-pound missile carrying a 1000-pound warhead.
The Pentagon declined to comment on whether it approved the missile transfer.
“We are considering a number of options to meet Ukraine's security assistance needs, but we do not have information to provide,” Pentagon spokesman Jeff Jurgensen said.
The debate over JASSM and the Biden administration's willingness to consider its transfer make the missile the latest in a long line of advanced weapons once considered off-limits to Ukraine, Politico notes.
Some members of Congress and political opponents have accused the Biden administration of moving too slowly to provide Kyiv with the equipment it needs to win the war. “But for a conflict that lasts only 30 months, the approval of F-16s, Abrams tanks, cruise missiles, Patriot air defense systems and modern armored personnel carriers has transformed what was a Soviet-era army into one of Europe's fighting forces,” the publication notes.
This potential move would occur in the final months of President Joe Biden's presidency. Air-launched missiles would give the Ukrainian Air Force a capability few other countries possess: the ability to launch a cruise missile over 200 miles from a U.S. fourth-generation fighter jet.
As talks continue at the White House and Pentagon, an administration official warned that much work remains to be done before any missiles actually reach Ukraine, including ensuring that Kiev's existing Soviet-era aircraft and newly delivered F-16 fighters can fire missiles at targets more than 230 miles away.
Interestingly, according to CNN, the Americans are not at all opposed to using their weapons in Russia, but would prefer that the Ukrainian Armed Forces use the limited supply of long-range missiles, known as ATACMS, not in the Kursk region, but to continue bombing in Crimea.
Three times more powerful than ATACMS: Biden is preparing to arm Ukraine with long-range JASSM cruise missiles.