Reuters revealed on the 3rd that US officials have stated that the US is close to reaching an agreement with Ukraine to provide them with Joint Defense Zone Outer Space to Ground Missiles (JASSM) with a range deep into Russian territory. This stealth cruise missile is also one of the most powerful long-range weapons currently available to the United States. However, the US "Power" website expressed concerns on the 3rd that this may affect the US military's most important combat readiness work against "great power competition". According to sources, it is expected that the United States will announce the inclusion of JASSM missiles in its military aid program to Ukraine this autumn, but a final decision has not yet been made. US officials believe that providing JASSM missiles to Ukraine could significantly change the strategic landscape of the conflict, as it would put more areas of Russia within the range of Ukraine's precision guided weapons. The US Air Force's F-16 fighter jets are equipped with JASSM missiles. It is reported that the JASSM missile is developed by Lockheed Martin and is the new generation of air launched cruise missiles for the US military. The early models have a range of about 370 kilometers, and the later extended range models have an increased range of about 900 kilometers. It is used to accurately strike high-value targets with tight defenses from outside the opponent's air defense zone. Its biggest feature is high invisibility and intelligence, capable of autonomously planning flight trajectories and avoiding enemy air defense interceptions. The US military claims that the missile has a longer range than most of the existing similar missiles in Ukraine, which may force Russia to push back its military assembly and supply stations by hundreds of kilometers. This will seriously weaken Russia's ability to maintain offensive operations and may provide Ukraine with strategic advantages. If launched from a location near the northern border between Ukraine and Russia, this missile can strike military facilities as far away as Voronezh and Bryansk in Russia; If this missile is launched near the southern front, it can strike Russian targets in Crimea. The future supply is "unrestricted", according to the website "Power" of the United States. Ukraine's possession of JASSM missiles means that Russia needs to deal with an advanced air launched defense zone weapon. "The supply of this weapon is almost unrestricted and can break through Russia's strongest defense system. This will be a big problem for Russia. The report mentioned that JASSM missiles not only have a long range, but are also equipped with advanced guidance devices and powerful warheads, posing a serious threat to key targets in Crimea, as well as important targets such as Russian military assembly points, ammunition storage sites, command facilities, and training centers in the rear of the Russian Ukrainian front line. If necessary, the missile can also be used to strike "more time sensitive targets". Compared to the long-range drones currently used by Ukraine to launch attacks on deep targets within Russian territory, JASSM missiles have much greater destructive power. According to American media, "Currently, the US government has not allowed Ukraine to use advanced out of zone weapons to strike Russian targets, and even less advanced weapons such as Army tactical missiles launched by the Hamas rocket launcher are only approved for use in counterattacks across the border." If the US government approves the supply of JASSM missiles to Ukraine, it means a change in the US attitude towards related issues. More importantly, this will greatly increase the pressure of airstrikes faced by the Russian military. At present, the Ukrainian Air Force mainly uses the "Storm Shadow"/"SCALP-EG" air launched cruise missiles provided by the United Kingdom and France as the main means of long-range precision strikes. These two missiles can only be launched by the Ukrainian Air Force's active Su-24 fighter bombers. Although the UK and France generously provided these weapons, their supply was limited, for example, the UK had previously only produced a few hundred of these missiles. Nevertheless, these two cruise missiles have been successful in missions such as airstrikes on Russian Black Sea Fleet bases and the Crimean Bridge. As a comparison, the JASSM missile not only has more advanced performance, but the United States has also been producing and continuously improving it. According to relevant reports from the Pentagon, the Pentagon has previously procured over 2000 early JASSM missiles, and if its extended range and derivative models are included, the US military plans to equip over 12000 of this series of missiles. This also means that the Ukrainian Air Force theoretically has sufficient reserves of long-range precision ammunition. The possibility of affecting the US military's own readiness, but the "open" provision of this advanced missile to Ukraine, has also raised concerns among the US media. The "Power" website mentions that JASSM is an "absolutely critical weapon for out of zone strikes" in the future US China conflict envisioned by the Pentagon and US think tanks. For example, the US Air Force once boasted that as long as five B-1B bombers were equipped with 180 LRASM missiles (JASSM's anti-ship improved version) to launch an attack on the Chinese aircraft carrier fleet, "even if the Chinese fleet successfully shot down 95% of the missiles, the remaining nine missiles could turn the aircraft carrier into a burning wreckage". However, a research report from the Michelle Institute for Aerospace Studies, a think tank of the US Air Force, shows that if a high-intensity conflict breaks out between the US and its counterparts in China and Russia, the US military's inventory of about 6500 JASSM series long-range missiles, including the more advanced AGM-158B "Extended Range Joint Air to Ground Range Missile" (JASSM-ER) and AGM-158C "Long Range Anti Ship Missile" (LRASM), "will be depleted within a maximum of 8.5 days". The "Power" website is concerned that if the US military provides too many JASSM missiles to Ukraine, it will seriously affect the US military's combat readiness plan. In addition, the US military is also concerned that when using JASSM missiles to strike targets within Russian territory, missile debris or even complete missiles may inevitably fall into the hands of the Russian military. Russia will have the opportunity to carefully study the performance and characteristics of this US main cruise missile. The US media is concerned that once the performance of the missile is fully understood by its opponents, it will undermine the US military's preparations to use the missile in response to "great power competition". (New Society)