This is what complacency gets you in war. Your warehouses blown up.

Credit to Ukraine for their recent successes in strategic bombing

Why specifically Azov?

Maybe capacity is to the point where military planners are willing to give up stock of some missiles. But if I’ve taken anything away from the Russo-Ukranian war, it’s that quantity of weapons systems is incredibly important. There’s a heck of a lot of targets to hit in China.

However if the US is in a position to send JASSM to Ukraine, I will be excited. Personally, I’m very excited to see what weapons systems that Ukraine can now use since it has F-16. Especially with JDAM-ER which the Russians have shown the effectiveness of.

The resurgence of the ATACMs is aimed at Ukraine and Europe as a whole. Especially Poland and its massive HIMARS fleet on order. It would definitely be useful in the Pacific, but from what I see in the procurement requests, it’s mostly for foreign order. It’s a major move though, seeing as new production of the ATACMs was terminated in 2007.

The problem with these long range Standoff munitions is that they’re sorely needed in the indo-pacific region if there’s ever a war with China. (Likely to be within the next few years) It’s going to give some pause to US planners as range is at a premium there. I don’t see JASSM going to Ukraine myself, as these missiles are reserved for a fight with China. However, it may be a useful move to get Europe to chip in for long range munitions.