'It will be good news': expert on potential transfer of AGM-158A capable of hitting Russian airfields

Defense Express military expert Ivan Kyrychevskyi said this on Espreso TV.

"The fact that the missiles can be installed on a regular basis on the F-16 means that now they will be not only air defense weapons, but also means of striking the enemy. If they give permission to use them on the territory of the Russian Federation, it will be great. We have to wait to see what kind of missiles they will provide us with. There are different configurations in terms of range. The Americans have a basic version of the AGM-158A with a range of 370 km. In theory, this is not bad for striking airfields within a 200-kilometer zone from the state border. We need such missiles for yesterday, and more of them," he said.

The American military-industrial complex can produce 45 such missiles a month, Kyrychevskyi says.

"We need to wait for an official announcement and specific instructions. Because even if we start from the moderately pessimistic scenario that AGM-158A will be delivered, it is still 370 km to strike the enemy, which is very good news. If the newest JASSM-ERs with a range of up to 900 km are delivered, we can dream of striking Russian strategic airfields. But before that, we need to wait for these missiles to be provided to us," the military expert noted.

According to him, the announcement of the prospect of transferring AGM-158 to JASSM looks more encouraging and noteworthy than The Guardian's statement that Britain will allow Ukraine to strike Russia with Storm Shadow missiles.

"Regarding The Guardian and Storm Shadow missiles, British journalists admitted that this was just their thinking out loud based on communication with insiders. That is, as for the likelihood of authorization for strikes on the territory of the Russian Federation, it's like the dinosaur joke: 50% chance that you can find it, 50% chance that you can't. However, the announcement of the prospect of transferring AGM-158 to JASSM looks more encouraging," he added.

• Recently, it was reported that the United States is close to an agreement to provide Ukraine with longer-range missiles to strike deep into Russia.