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Ukrainian parliamentarians and advisers to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy have over the last several months pressed Biden officials and lawmakers on Capitol Hill to send the JASSM. That pressure grew when a cohort of Ukrainian parliamentarians visited Washington in July. Their request made its way to national security adviser Jake Sullivan, one of the people said.
Poland, Australia and Finland have the weapon, while Japan and the Netherlands signed agreements to buy the missiles in July with delivery expected in the coming years. Germany, Greece, Romania and Denmark are also in discussions to buy the missile.
Missile maker Lockheed Martin has delivered over 4,100 JASSMs in various configurations to the U.S. Air Force and allies over the years, with a new production line in Alabama churning out around 45 missiles a month to reach a stockpile goal of 7,200 missiles, according to Pentagon data.
The JASSMs would give Ukraine a significant boost in range, as the F-16s donated this summer by European countries are not expected to fly close to Russian lines for fear of being shot down.
The U.S. and allies have already committed to sending Ukraine a variety of air-to-air and air-to-ground munitions for its F-16s, but the JASSM deliveries would give Kyiv the most powerful and longest-range weapon in its air force’s arsenal.
A cadre of pro-Ukraine U.S. lawmakers has been pressing the administration to loosen restrictions on Kyiv’s ability to fire U.S.-supplied weapons into Russian territory. They argue that the U.S. should keep the momentum going after Ukrainian forces crossed the border into Russia on Aug. 6.
“Certainly we are pushing for additional weapon systems to be supplied to the Ukrainians because the Russian aerial reign of terror has reached a different order of magnitude — maybe several orders of magnitude greater than it was, with different kinds of missiles, glide bombs and drones,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who returned Tuesday night from Kyiv. Blumenthal declined to comment on any specific weapons under discussion.
The Pentagon has been receptive to the suggestion from Congress to supply the missiles because Russia has been successful at jamming some other American-made, precision-guided weapons.
Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. C.Q. Brown didn’t rule out sending the missiles when Ukraine Caucus Co-Chair Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) asked at a hearing in April whether the Defense Department was considering the action. How the F-16s would be armed would be part of DOD’s talks with Ukraine Defense Contact Group allies, Brown said.
“As we bring on the F-16s, it’s not only the airplanes, but the training of the pilots, the training of the maintainers — but also making sure we have the weapons to go with it,” Brown said. “That is the dialogue we’re having not only to get the airplanes but to get them to full capability.”
