October 18, 2015: Poland says it needs 40 AGM-158A JASSM (Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles) it ordered in 2014 immediately and the U.S. is apparently speeding up delivery, especially the training missiles, test and maintenance equipment and special equipment for the Polish F-16s that will use JASSM. The Poles are paying $500 million for the JASSMs and accessories. This order was confirmed in late 2014 and even then there were concerns about Russia. Then as now Poland needs JASSM to deal with modern air defenses Russia is building. Russia is the only real enemy Poland has in the region and Poland wants to be prepared for the worst. Apparently Poland believes the worst is more likely now than in 2014 and the United States agrees. As a member of NATO Poland expects back up if the Russians come after them and JASSM provides a way to discourage or at least slow down Russian aggression.

Australia was the first (in 1999) foreign customer for JASSM but had to wait a while. Such delays are no longer a problem because JASSM finally proved it would work. JASSM was expected to enter production by 2002 but that was delayed frequently by development problems. From 2006 to 2009 the U.S. Department of Defense was on the verge of cancelling the $6 billion JASSM program several times. Lobbying, pleading, large orders from Australia and South Korea, and the growing possibility that the missile would be useful against Iranian, Chinese or North Korean air defense systems, gave the program a few more lives.

The only problem JASSM had was that, well, it often didn't work. Until 2009 the tests had been mostly failures. But the manufacturer was able to identify all the problems, and convinced the government that these were the result of poor manufacturing not some fundamental design flaws. The manufacturing issues, the builder promised, were fixed. Fortunately tests in late 2009 were over 90 percent successful. That kind of good news arrived just in time and JASSM finally entered service. Although the U.S. Air Force ordered the JASSM into full production in early 2004 only a few were produced because of test failures. Air force purchasing plans were cut way back because of the reliability problems, and this delayed shipment of the missiles to combat units until 2011. To help this along the U.S. Air Force ordered 160 JASSM in 2010 at a cost of about $1.5 million each.

JASSM is the third family of GPS guided smart bombs to be developed and is the most expensive. The original JDAM bomb kit (added to 500, 1,000 and 2,000 pound bombs), cost $26,000 each. The longer range JSOW (JDAM with wings and more powerful guidance system), cost $460,000 each. The even longer range JASSM cost over half a million dollars (the 400 kilometer version) to over a million dollars (the 900 kilometer JASSM ER) each. Then there is the SDB (Small Diameter Bomb), a 250 pound JDAM that can also punch through concrete bunkers and other structures. These cost $75,000 each. All these are basically GPS guided smart bombs.

JASSM missiles are 1,045 kg (2,300 pound) weapons that are basically 455 kg (1,000 pound) JDAMS (GPS guided bombs) with a motor added. JASSM was designed to go after enemy air defense systems or targets deep in heavily defended (against air attack) enemy territory. The original reason for buying these was to have something to deal with air defenses of a nation like China. The air force and navy planned to buy over 5,000 JASSM, but there has been opposition in the military and in Congress. The missiles are ten times more expensive than a JADM bomb of the same weight. But the aviators make the argument that many aircraft and pilots would be lost if the air defenses of a nation like, perhaps China, were attacked without using JASSM.

JASSM is stealthy and uses GPS and terminal (infrared) guidance to zero in on heavily defended targets (like air defense sites.) The terminal guidance enables the missile to land within three meters (ten feet) of the aiming point. If there were a war with North Korea, for example, JASSM would be essential to taking out enemy air defenses, or any other targets that have to be hit early in a war (before air defenses can be shut down.) This capability is apparently what attracted the South Koreans, who now have F-15K aircraft that can carry JASSM. It also caught the attention of Poland when Russian began making threatening noises.

JASSM was designed to handle the most modern Russian surface to air missiles, which are also being sold to China. North Korea has older stuff, and can't afford the newer Russian SAMs. But even these older air defenses can be dangerous, and are best addressed with long range missiles. So there is a need for a missile like JASSM, at least one that works. With Russian warplanes and air defense systems now operating in Syria JASSM may be needed there before in East Europe.