Which main advantage do AGM-158 JASSM missiles have for Ukraine?

Defense Express, a media and consulting company, writes about this.

The United States may officially announce the transfer of the long-awaited AGM-158 JASSM cruise missiles for Ukrainian F-16 fighters to Ukraine as early as this fall in one of its defense aid packages, although the decision to allocate these missiles has not yet been made.

“It also remains unclear whether the United States will allow these missiles to strike directly at the territory of the Russian Federation - although there is some logic in the fact that the simultaneous delivery of AGM-158 JASSM should ultimately force this decision, because otherwise the effectiveness of these weapons will be much lower - despite having its own long-range strike drones, the Palianytsia jet drone or a new ballistic missile, the Ukrainian Defense Forces still need long-range weapons from allies,” the report notes.

Moreover, in the case of JASSM cruise missiles, it is precisely the case that Ukraine may receive an “option” of stable supplies of these long-range weapons, as noted by The War Zone.

According to the Pentagon's budget documents and reports on the procurement of JASSM cruise missiles, the following data is provided: if we talk about AGM-158As, the production of which was completed in 2021, then a little more than 2,000 units were purchased.

At the same time, if we take into account the total “inventory” of all JASSM purchases, including future deliveries of JASSM-ER, this number could reach as many as 12,000 units.

Thus, the United States could well provide stable supplies of at least older versions of JASSM missiles to Ukraine, replenishing its warehouses with newer missiles to replace those transferred under the Presidential Drawdown Authority program.