US readies its most lethal missiles as Iran war enters dangerous new phase

In a primetime address earlier this week, Donald Trump vowed to bomb Iran hard enough to send the country "back to the Stone Age where they belong". Now, the US is preparing to deploy some of its most lethal long-range weapons to strike Iranian targets.

According to Bloomberg, the next phase of the US military campaign will commit nearly the entire inventory of stealthy JASSM-ER (Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Range) cruise missiles, drawing from stockpiles deployed at strategic positions in the rest of the world.

The JASSM-ER, or Joint Air-to-Surface Missile-Extended Range, can strike targets more than 600 miles (965 km) away and is designed to hit from standoff distances to evade enemy air defences.

LONG-RANGE ARSENAL REPOSITIONED

An order to pull the roughly $1.5 million missiles from stockpiles in the Pacific region was issued at the end of March, Bloomberg reported citing sources privy to the matter. Missiles from various facilities, including those on American soil, are being moved to US Central Command bases and to Fairford in the UK, which was browbeaten by Trump to allow the use of its bases for Iran ops.

Alongside the extended-range variant, about two-thirds of the shorter-range JASSM missiles -- which have a range of roughly 250 miles (402 km) -- have also been committed to the Iran war, according to the report.

The US has relied extensively on standoff weapons like the JASSM-ER to limit risk to personnel, but the strategy has reduced stockpiles meant for potential conflicts with more capable adversaries such as China.

Previously, the Washington Post had reported that parts of the THAAD missile defence system deployed in South Korea were being moved to the Middle East after Iran reportedly destroyed a $300 million interceptor at a US-allied airbase in Jordan.

But the heavy use of long-range weapons in the war of attrition against Iran is taking a toll on US inventories.

STOCKPILES UNDER STRAIN

US forces have struck more than 12,300 targets across Iran since the start of Operation Epic Fury, including naval vessels, missile launchers and defence manufacturing facilities, according to an update from US Central Command earlier this week.

In the first four weeks of the war, US operations have already consumed more than 1,000 JASSM-ERs, the Bloomberg report said. After the redeployment, only about 425 missiles will remain available globally out of a pre-war inventory of about 2,300.

In more bad news, roughly 75 missiles were deemed "unserviceable" due to damage or technical faults.

Replenishing the stocks of missile interceptors and strike systems is reportedly expected to take years at current production levels.

But the US can no longer afford to play it safe. The loss of its two military aircraft in Iranian airspace has left it red-faced and smarting.

BATTLEFIELD SETBACKS

Puncturing Trump’s claims of air superiority, Iran shot down a US F-15E strike fighter and an A-10 attack aircraft this week. It then struck two Black Hawk helicopters engaged in search-and-rescue ops.

Tehran has also destroyed more than a dozen MQ-9 drones since the start of the war.

Despite US and Israeli assertions that much of Iran’s air defence network has been degraded, the losses show that Tehran is keeping a few cards up its sleeves. It is still very much a threat to manned aircraft, reinforcing Washington’s shift toward long-range missile strikes.

While committing large numbers of JASSM-ER missiles does not mean all will be used, they have already been launched from B-52 and B-1B bombers as well as strike fighters, signalling a sustained and resource-intensive air campaign.

America’s war against Iran is about to enter its most dangerous phase yet.

- Ends

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