US Air Force orders 4,300 JASSM missiles after 2026 Iran War drains critical stockpiles.

The U.S. Air Force is rapidly expanding its stockpile of long-range JASSM cruise missiles after high-intensity strikes against Iran exposed how quickly precision munitions can be depleted in modern warfare. The planned purchase of 4,300 additional missiles signals a shift toward preparing for sustained, large-scale conflict where strike demand could overwhelm current inventories within weeks.

The JASSM’s long-range, precision-guided design allows U.S. aircraft to hit hardened and high-value targets while staying outside advanced air defenses, making it a core weapon for deep-strike missions. Newer variants add improved targeting, resistance to jamming, and in-flight retargeting, reinforcing a broader trend toward survivable, networked strike capabilities needed for contested environments such as the Indo-Pacific.

Related topic: U.S. Seeks Hardened Anti-Jam GPS Guidance for JASSM Cruise Missile in Electronic Warfare Conditions

Payload capacity varies by aircraft: the B-1B is capable of carrying up to 24 JASSM missiles, the B-2 up to 16, and the B-52H up to 20 when combining internal and external carriage. (Picture source: US Air Force)

On April 23, 2026, the U.S. Air Force released a new procurement plan to acquire nearly 4,300 AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles (JASSMs) through fiscal year 2031, with the stated objective of rebuilding inventories after recent operations against Iran and expanding the total stockpile to about 11,000 units. The program is structured under a multiyear procurement framework covering Lots 22 to 26, with annual quantities rising sharply in the near term before stabilizing. Total program procurement is projected at about $20.2 billion over the planning horizon, including both baseline funding and advance procurement elements.

The fiscal year 2027 request alone represents a major inflection point in annual quantities (+115.5%) and funding levels (+144%). The planning baseline assumes sustained high demand for long-range precision strike munitions across multiple theaters, as a conflict against a peer adversary could involve target sets up to ten times larger. The structure of the program indicates a transition from peacetime stock management to sustained high-volume acquisition and the maintenance of inventory levels compatible with high-intensity, multi-week campaigns. The fiscal year 2027 request includes 821 missiles, composed of 491 funded through discretionary appropriations and 330 financed through mandatory funding tied to munitions acceleration.

This compares to fiscal year 2026, where total procurement was 381 missiles, including 144 discretionary and 237 mandatory units, indicating a net increase of 440 missiles year-over-year (+115.5%). For FY2026, total procurement funding for JASSM was about $818.1 million, combining $328.1 million in discretionary funding and $490 million in mandatory funding. Total obligation authority for fiscal year 2027 is calculated at $1.997 billion (+144%), combining $967.9 million in discretionary funding with $1.029 billion in mandatory funding. The gross weapon system unit cost is estimated at about $2.34 million per missile, while the flyaway cost is lower but not the primary budgeting metric.

The forward procurement profile shows 896 missiles planned for fiscal year 2028, followed by about 860 missiles annually through fiscal years 2029, 2030, and 2031. These quantities align with the maximum annual lot buy target embedded in the multiyear procurement structure. Economic Order Quantity financing is used to procure components in bulk, reducing marginal costs across production lots. Operational consumption rates observed in Operation Epic Fury provide a quantitative basis for the procurement increase, with more than 13,000 targets struck over a period of about five weeks during operations against Iran, equivalent to roughly 2,600 targets per week.

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The AGM-158 family of missiles, which was used in Syria in April 2018 and in Yemen during 2025, was also extensively used in the 2026 Iran conflict, indicating repeated reliance on long-range standoff munitions. If 20 to 30 percent of targets in such campaigns require cruise missiles, weekly demand must have ranged between 500 and 800 JASSM-type missiles. Current planned production, even after expansion, is about 1,000 missiles per year, or roughly 19 JASSMs per week, potentially creating a mismatch between consumption and replenishment rates. This implies that sustained high-intensity operations could exhaust available inventories within a short timeframe, as replacement timelines for expended missiles extend over multiple fiscal years due to production constraints.

Planning assumptions for a conflict involving China include target sets up to ten times larger than recent Middle East operations, further increasing projected demand. The AGM-158 JASSM (for Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile) is a subsonic, air-launched cruise missile with a 1,000-pound penetrating warhead designed for hardened and relocatable targets. The baseline AGM-158A has a range of about 370 kilometers or 230 miles, while the AGM-158B JASSM-ER extends this range beyond 925 kilometers or more than 575 miles. Guidance is provided by a combination of inertial navigation and GPS, with an imaging infrared seeker for terminal phase targeting, producing an accuracy of about 3 meters circular error probable.

Unit cost has increased over time, from about $0.7 million per missile for the AGM-158A in fiscal year 2017 to between $1.0 million and $1.6 million for AGM-158B variants between fiscal years 2020 and 2024. Current procurement averages, including system-level costs, are about $2.3 million per missile. Cost growth is linked to upgrades in electronics, integration of anti-jam GPS receivers, and inefficiencies associated with scaling production. These cost trends directly influence total program expenditure projections. Production of the JASSM has shifted away from earlier variants, with the AGM-158A and initial AGM-158B no longer in production and the AGM-158B-2 now in full-rate production under Lot 21.

The B-2 configuration includes a new missile control unit, updated software written in C++, improved GPS receivers, and an electronic safe and arm fuze. The AGM-158B-3, for its part, introduces GPS M-code capability and an upgraded terminal sensor, entering low-rate initial production beginning in fiscal year 2024. The AGM-158D variant adds a weapon data link that allows post-launch retargeting against relocatable or time-sensitive targets, with production insertion planned for later lots. New variants are incorporated directly into production rather than applied as retrofits to existing inventory, reducing rework requirements. Annual production lots are aligned with the multiyear procurement framework, ensuring continuity across fiscal years.

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This approach allows incremental capability improvements while maintaining steady output. The JASSM missile is integrated across multiple U.S. aircraft used against Iran, including the B-1B, B-2, B-52H, F-15E, F-16, and F-35A, providing a broad operational flexibility. Payload capacity varies by aircraft, with the B-1B able to carry up to 24 JASSM-ER missiles, the B-2 up to 16, and the B-52H up to 20 using internal and external carriage. Fighter jets such as the F-15E and F-16 carry smaller numbers but provide a better distributed launch capability across multiple bases. The missile’s range allows launch outside the engagement envelope of integrated air defense systems, reducing the pilot's exposure to surface-to-air missiles.

Moreover, the integration across both legacy and fifth-generation aircraft enables coordinated strike operations involving mixed formations. This distribution of launch platforms supports the U.S. Air Force's concepts involving dispersed basing and multi-axis attacks. For the JASSM, the result is a flexible delivery architecture capable of scaling strike volume depending on mission requirements. Industrial production capacity remains a limiting factor despite planned expansion, with an output estimated at about 500 missiles per year in 2023 and a target of reaching 1,000 annually. A new 225,000 square foot production facility introduced in 2022 includes automated processes such as robotic paint lines and advanced testing systems to increase throughput.

However, supply chain constraints persist, particularly in electronic components affected by diminishing manufacturing sources and material shortages. Workforce limitations also constrain production, as assembly and testing require skilled labor that cannot be rapidly expanded. Multiyear procurement contracts are used to provide stable demand signals, encouraging suppliers to invest in capacity and reduce bottlenecks. Scaling production requires coordination across multiple tiers of subcontractors, not just the primary manufacturer, as these factors define the practical limits of production growth over the near term.

The broader force planning context positions the AGM-158 JASSM as a primary conventional deep-strike munition for operations in contested environments, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region. The missile is intended to engage hardened facilities, air defense nodes, and high-value targets at extended ranges without requiring forward basing of aircraft. It is replacing older systems such as the AGM-86C/D conventional air-launched cruise missile, reflecting a shift toward more modern precision strike capabilities. The JASSM family operates alongside the AGM-158C LRASM, which is optimized for maritime targets, and the Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile currently under development, providing a layered strike capability across different mission sets and target types.

Written by Jérôme Brahy

Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.