The US military is moving nearly its entire stockpile of stealthy JASSM-ER cruise missiles to the Iran theater, leaving only about 425 operational units for global operations. This deployment, ordered in late March, draws missiles from Pacific and other regional stockpiles to US Central Command bases and UK facilities. The $1.5 million JASSM-ER can fly over 600 miles, allowing strikes from safer distances. After the transfer, only 425 missiles remain available worldwide, a fraction of the pre-war 2,300. Approximately 75 are unserviceable due to damage or technical faults, limiting available missiles to roughly 17 B-1B bombers per mission.

This shift reflects the intense pace of operations, with over 1,000 missiles fired in the first four weeks alone. Supplies of these long-range weapons face unprecedented strain, as replacing used missiles would require years of production at current rates. The move underscores the campaign's scale and the strategic gamble of depleting systems designed for more capable adversaries like China.