The White House is “open” to sending long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine, which could give previously transferred F-16 jets greater combat ability, Politico reported on Thursday, citing officials in the Biden administration.
The unnamed officials reportedly told the outlet that no final decision has been made on sending the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM), but the Pentagon is currently “working through the complicated details.” Those issues reportedly include reviews of the transfer of sensitive technologies, and ensuring Ukraine’s jets can launch the 2,400-pound missile, which carries a 1,000-pound warhead.
Developed by Lockheed Martin, the JASSM has been shared with only a “handful of close allies,” the report said.
“We consider a range of options to meet Ukraine’s security assistance requirements,” Pentagon spokesperson Jeff Jurgensen told the media outlet, without confirming whether any transfer had been approved.
The JASSM missiles are the “latest in a long line of sophisticated weaponry once considered off-limits for transfer to Ukraine,” Politico said. That list of previously off-limits hardware once included F-16s themselves, along with Abrams tanks and Patriot air defense systems.
While Ukraine already possesses both air- and ground-launched missiles provided by the US, UK and France that can reach almost 200 miles from their launch point, it has been pressing the US for months to supply JASSM missiles.
A host of Western nations have pledged to provide Ukraine with more than 80 F-16 fighters. Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky confirmed earlier this month that the first batch of the American-built jets had arrived in the country and were already being flown by Ukrainian pilots.
“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,” Joint Chiefs Chair Charles Q. Brown told Politico. “That is the dialogue we’re having, not only to get the airplanes but to get them to full capability.”
Zelensky has admitted that Ukraine does not have enough pilots to fly all of the jets pledged by the West, but said that “many guys are now training.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that any base hosting Ukrainian F-16s would become a legitimate target for the Russian military, while the Kremlin has declared that no amount of Western hardware will win the conflict for Ukraine.