US prepares to use close to entire stealth missile arsenal as Iran strikes intensify - report

Coverage Comparison

Multiple reports this week have detailed the United States' plan to commit nearly its entire inventory of JASSM-ER cruise missiles to the ongoing military campaign against Iran. According to Bloomberg, as cited by the Jerusalem Post and two analyses from the South China Morning Post, the order to pull the missiles from Pacific stockpiles was issued at the end of March. A person with direct knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg that missiles at US facilities, including the continental US, will be moved to US Central Command bases or to RAF Fairford in the UK.

The reports vary slightly in emphasis. The Jerusalem Post's coverage, drawing on Bloomberg, focuses on the operational implications for the Iran war, citing US and Israeli officials who say Iran's air defenses have been significantly degraded. The South China Morning Post pieces, meanwhile, frame the deployment as a signal to the Indo-Pacific that US interests lie elsewhere, while also highlighting potential supply constraints.

Key Claims

• Nearly the entire inventory: The US is preparing to commit almost its entire stockpile of JASSM-ER missiles to the Iran campaign. From a pre-war inventory of about 2,300 units, only roughly 425 would remain available elsewhere in the world, according to a source cited by Bloomberg. Another source told Bloomberg that about two-thirds of US stockpiles, including the shorter-range JASSM, have been committed.

• Missile usage: More than 1,000 JASSM-ER missiles were used in the first four weeks of the war, a person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. The same source noted that an additional 47 missiles were used in a separate US operation targeting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in January. Approximately 75 missiles were unserviceable due to damage or technical faults.

• Production and history: The US has funded the procurement of more than 6,200 JASSM missiles since 2009. Production of the baseline version ended about a decade ago. Lockheed Martin is scheduled to produce 396 JASSM-ER missiles in 2026, with the capacity to increase output to as many as 860, according to the Bloomberg report.

• Iran's missile campaign: Iran has launched more than 1,600 ballistic missiles across the region, as well as approximately 4,000 Shahed-type cruise missiles, according to the Jerusalem Post, which did not attribute these figures to a specific source.

Perspectives

US Strategic Priorities

Analysts quoted by the South China Morning Post suggest that the massive relocation of missiles from the Pacific to the Middle East could indicate the US has arms supply constraints in the Iran war. It also signals to "friends and foes alike in the Indo-Pacific" that Washington's interests lie elsewhere, a shift with potential implications for regional security dynamics.

Operational Considerations

The JASSM-ER, a $1.5 million stealth cruise missile developed by Lockheed Martin, has a range of over 965 km (600 miles), double that of the baseline JASSM. Its stealth design allows it to evade radar and surface-to-air missile systems, enabling aircraft to strike heavily defended targets from safer distances. The missile has been launched from B-52 and B-1B bombers, as well as strike fighters. The US has relied heavily on such standoff weapons to limit risks to service members while targeting Iranian infrastructure.

Recent incidents, including the downing of a US F-15E strike fighter and an A-10 attack aircraft, as well as damage to rescue helicopters, highlight that risks remain in the theater, Bloomberg reported. A significant portion of Iran's air defenses has been destroyed, which might allow the use of cheaper munitions in some operations.

Temporal Context and Corrections

These reports come as the war with Iran, which began on February 28, 2026, enters its second month. The order to move missiles was issued in late March, and the deployment is described as part of the next phase of US operations. The 47 missiles used against Maduro in January predate the current war, according to the source cited by Bloomberg.

No corrections to the original reporting have been identified in the available articles.