Committing the missiles to the Iran war does not necessarily mean all will be used, Bloomberg noted, adding that they have so far been launched from B-52 and B-1B bombers as well as strike fighters.
The United States is preparing to commit nearly its entire inventory of stealthy long-range JASSM-ER cruise missiles to its ongoing military campaign against Iran, Bloomberg reported on Saturday. The missiles are being drawn from stockpiles previously allocated to other regions as part of the next phase of operations.
The US has relied heavily on long-range standoff weapons such as the JASSM-ER in strikes on Iran, in part to limit risks to service members while targeting Iranian infrastructure, the report said.
US and Israeli officials said a significant portion of Iran’s air defense systems has been destroyed, enabling the use of cheaper munitions in some operations. However, recent incidents, including the downing of a US F-15E strike fighter, an A-10 attack aircraft, and damage to rescue helicopters from Iranian fire, highlight continued risks in the theater, Bloomberg reported.
More than 1,000 JASSM-ER missiles were used in the first four weeks of the war, a person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. The same source added that an additional 47 missiles were used in a separate US operation targeting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
The US has funded the procurement of more than 6,200 JASSM missiles since 2009, while production of the baseline version ended about a decade ago, according to the report. Lockheed Martin is scheduled to produce 396 JASSM-ER missiles in 2026, with the capacity to increase output to as many as 860 annually if production lines are fully dedicated.
Committing the missiles to the Iran war does not necessarily mean all will be used, Bloomberg noted, adding that they have so far been launched from B-52 and B-1B bombers as well as strike fighters.
US Central Command and the Department of Defense did not immediately respond to requests for comment, the report said.
Ground invasion, increased strikes, or deal?
It remains unclear what US President Donald Trump is planning as the next phase of the campaign. As US ground forces, including Marines and paratroopers, move into the region, speculation has emerged about a possible operation to seize Kharg Island, which hosts Iran’s main oil terminals, Bloomberg reported.
Trump said in a speech on Wednesday that “over the next two to three weeks, we’re going to bring them back to the Stone Age where they belong,” without clarifying whether he was referring to Iran’s military, government, or civilian infrastructure.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine said on Tuesday that the US had begun flying B-52 bombers over Iran, implying that airspace conditions had improved enough to allow the use of cheaper, more readily available JDAM precision bombs.
Iran has also shot down more than 12 MQ-9 drones during the war, in addition to the two US aircraft lost on Friday, Bloomberg noted.
Kelly Grieco, a senior fellow at the Stimson Center, said the delayed deployment of B-52 bombers “raises questions about the degree to which the US has continued to rely on standoff capabilities,” Bloomberg reported.
Iran has launched more than 1,600 ballistic missiles across the region, as well as approximately 4,000 Shahed-type cruise missiles, based on official reporting from Gulf countries cited in the report. Defending against ballistic missile threats alone would require at least 3,200 interceptors.
Lockheed Martin currently produces about 650 Patriot PAC-3 interceptors annually and plans to increase production to 2,000 per year by 2030, while production of THAAD interceptors is expected to rise from 96 to 400 annually, the report said.
The US has also fired hundreds of Tomahawk cruise missiles during the campaign, with roughly 4,000 in stockpiles before the war, including older models and anti-ship variants. RTX Corp. produced about 100 new Tomahawks in 2025, while approximately 240 older missiles were upgraded to the latest Block V configuration, Bloomberg reported.
After more than a month of fighting, assessments indicate that Iran’s missile capabilities have been significantly degraded but remain intact in part, with only a portion of its arsenal confirmed destroyed. A substantial number of launchers and stockpiled missiles are still believed to be operational despite sustained US and Israeli strikes.
