General Christopher G. Cavoli, Chief of the U.S. European Command, recently compiled a list of weapons systems in U.S. military inventories that could support Ukraine in its war against russia but have not been supplied for various reasons. Cavoli presented this report to Congress in early September 2024, according to CNN.
The report includes items such as the AGM-158 JASSM (Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile) and the Link 16 communication system, widely used by the U.S. and NATO. Ukraine has specifically requested this equipment repeatedly.
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While the document does not explain why these systems have not been provided, CNN cites U.S. officials who argue that the JASSM missiles would be ineffective for Ukraine, as deploying them requires a certain level of air superiority — something Ukraine currently lacks.
However, Defense Express points out that this reasoning seems more like a formal excuse to withhold long-range weapons. Securing air superiority over russian forces would require an additional dozens, if not hundreds, of modern aircraft equipped with advanced electronic warfare systems and long-range air-to-air missiles.
Still, despite falling behind in terms of aerial power, Ukraine has been using cruise missiles provided by other allies to much success, specifically the British Storm Shadow and the French SCALP-EG, which were integrated with Ukraine’s Su-24M bombers.
These aircraft, although technically inferior to their russian counterparts, have been used in strikes against russian naval bases in Crimea, command centers, ammo dumps in Donbas, etc. These missions succeeded even before Ukraine received its modern F-16 multirole fighters.
This track record should serve as a compelling argument for providing Ukraine with JASSM cruise missiles, a primary air-to-surface capability that would unlock the full potential of its newly acquired F-16s, alongside the permission to use these weapons for strikes on military targets inside the russian territory.
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