Ukraine may receive long-range AGM‑158 JASSM missiles in latest aid package
The Defence Express portal states that Ukraine may receive, alongside F-16 aircraft, powerful AGM-158 JASSM manoeuvring missiles. These come under the same category of long-range precision weapons as the Storm Shadow and TAURUS KEPD 350 missiles. The missiles supplied by the British have already aided in eliminating a Russian submarine and the command centre of the 38th Fighter Regiment, leading to the dismissal of its commander and some senior officers.
However, the British possess a relatively small number of these missiles. Additionally, the delivery of German TAURUS KEPD 350 missiles is currently not feasible. Therefore, American aid comes into play. The Americans have indeed provided Ukraine with MGM-140 ATACMS ballistic missiles, but only the oldest versions. The AGM-158 JASSM manoeuvring missiles, launched from aircraft, are a more recent innovation.
Given the American conservatism in terms of weapons supply to Ukraine, only older versions with a range of up to about 370 kilometres could potentially be available. Not the ER versions, which have a range of up to 1,000 kilometres.
AGM-158 JASSM: American long-range weapon against Russians, also utilised by Poland
The AGM-158 JASSM missile, where JASSM stands for Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, had a rocky development journey starting in the late 90s. It only became officially operational in 2009. Export users such as Poland had to wait until 2014 for export approval. It was in this year that a new variant came out: the Extended Range or ER variant with a range of up to over 899 kilometres. Poland's F-16s are equipped with this variant. Ideally, it allows for potential attacks on targets in Moscow.
The AGM-158 JASSM is a subsonic (0.8-0.9 Ma) construction made using stealth technology, adapted for launching from aircraft. The missile has a length of about 4.3 metres, and after spreading its wings, a width of roughly 2.7 metres. It is important to note that both the regular version and ER versions are identical in size.
Both missiles are equipped with a penetrating WDU-42/B warhead, weighing about 432 kg. They have three modes of operation in line with current trends:
- detonation upon target impact,
- exploding with a delay, which aids bunker destruction,
- detonation mid-air, causing a spread of lethal shrapnel over a large area.
Guiding the warhead to the target involves a system that pairs inertial and satellite navigation with an optoelectronic head. This system ensures hit accuracy of less than 3 metres in the final flight phase. Delivery of such weaponry will equip Ukrainians to increase the frequency of attacks on key Russian targets located hundreds of kilometres behind the front line.
