TNN, New Delhi

The United States is set to commit nearly its entire inventory of stealthy long-range JASSM-ER cruise missiles to its ongoing military campaign against Iran, significantly depleting stockpiles earmarked for other regions, according to a Bloomberg report.

Citing a person with direct knowledge of the matter, Bloomberg reported that orders were issued in late March to pull the $1.5 million missiles from Pacific reserves, with additional weapons from the continental US and other locations being redirected to US Central Command bases and Fairford in the United Kingdom.

After the redeployment, only about 425 JASSM-ER missiles will remain from a pre-war inventory of roughly 2,300, the report said. Around 75 more are considered “unserviceable” due to damage or technical faults. The remaining operational stock would be sufficient for approximately 17 B-1B bomber missions.

The JASSM-ER, or Joint Air-to-Surface Missile Extended Range, has a strike range exceeding 600 miles and is designed to hit targets from a distance while avoiding enemy air defences. Alongside the shorter-range JASSM, which has a range of about 250 miles, nearly two-thirds of US stockpiles have now been allocated to the Iran conflict.

The heavy use of long-range precision weapons comes as US and Israeli forces continue their air campaign launched on February 28. According to the report, more than 1,000 JASSM-ER missiles were expended in the first four weeks of the war alone.

While such weapons reduce risks to personnel by enabling stand-off strikes, their rapid consumption is straining inventories meant for potential conflicts with more advanced adversaries such as China. Replenishing these stocks could take years at current production rates.