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Air-Launched Cruise Missiles Are Defining Long-Range Strike in Modern Wars
Russia's Kh-101 and Kh-55-family strikes in Ukraine, Ukraine's Storm Shadow and SCALP-EG use from Su-24 aircraft, and U.S. JASSM use in Operation Epic Fury show how air-launched cruise missiles have become central long-range strike tools in current conflicts.
The same weapon class keeps appearing
Air-launched cruise missiles now sit at the center of several modern long-range strike campaigns. In Ukraine, public reporting and investigations document Russia's use of Kh-101 and Kh-55-family missiles from strategic bomber strike packages, while Ukraine has used Western-supplied Storm Shadow and SCALP-EG missiles from adapted Su-24 aircraft.
The pattern extends beyond Ukraine. In the 2025 Israel-Iran Conflict, CSIS and Air & Space Forces Magazine reported U.S. JASSM-family use during Operation Epic Fury, while CENTCOM's public material established the broader bomber-heavy U.S. campaign against Iranian military targets. The result is a cross-conflict picture of air-launched cruise missiles as scarce, high-value weapons used for standoff attack, infrastructure strikes, and interdiction.
Sources: UK Defence Secretary Statement, Ukraine MOD Kh-101 Modifications, Storm Shadow Used by Ukraine, Wallace Confirms, French SCALP-EG Cruise Missiles Officially In Use In Ukraine, CSIS Last Rounds Iran War Ceasefire, Air & Space Forces B-52 JDAMs Iran
Russia's bomber-launched missile salvos
The Russian side of the Ukraine war shows the mass-salvo use case. A UK Ministry of Defence statement said Russian forces used Kh-101 and Kh-555 long-range air-launched cruise missiles in strikes against Ukraine between April 27 and May 2, 2023. Ukrainian reporting later described attacks involving grouped Kh-101, Kh-555, and Kh-55 missiles launched from Tu-95MS strategic bombers.
The Kh-101 record has continued into later phases of the war. The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine identified Kh-101 characteristics in its investigation of a December 29, 2023 Dnipro strike, and Ukraine's Ministry of Defence reported in May 2026 that Russian launches of Kh-101, Kh-55, and Kh-555 missiles had continued that year while describing observed wartime Kh-101 modifications.
Sources: UK Defence Secretary Statement, Ukrinform September 2023 Missile Attack, UN Commission Ukraine Report, Ukraine MOD Kh-101 Modifications
Ukraine's adapted Su-24 strike arm
Ukraine's air-launched cruise-missile story is different: limited Western-supplied stocks integrated onto Soviet-designed aircraft. The United Kingdom announced Storm Shadow deliveries in May 2023, and Forces News reported Ben Wallace's confirmation one week later that Ukrainian forces had used the missiles against Russian targets.
France followed with SCALP-EG deliveries, which French official remarks framed as a way to give Ukraine a deep-strike capability against Russian military infrastructure on Ukrainian territory. The War Zone and Defense Express later identified SCALP-EG missiles in Ukrainian Su-24 service, matching the earlier public identification of the Su-24 as Ukraine's Storm Shadow launch aircraft.
Sources: Defence Secretary Oral Statement on War in Ukraine, Storm Shadow Used by Ukraine, Wallace Confirms, Su-24 Fencer Is Ukraine's Storm Shadow Missile Carrier, Sommet de l'OTAN a Vilnius, French SCALP-EG Cruise Missiles Officially In Use In Ukraine, Defense Express SCALP-EG Su-24 Video
JASSM and the inventory problem
Operation Epic Fury adds another lesson: air-launched cruise missiles are not just tactically useful; they can become an inventory-management problem. CSIS, summarizing reported munition expenditure at the Iran war ceasefire, cited reports of more than 1,000 JASSMs used in the first month of the operation and about 1,100 JASSM-ERs used by the ceasefire.
That scale matters because JASSM is a U.S. standoff weapon designed for defended targets, not a cheap battlefield munition. Air & Space Forces Magazine reported JASSM use and B-52 carriage during the campaign, while CENTCOM's fact sheet listed B-1, B-2, and B-52 bombers among the U.S. assets employed in Operation Epic Fury.
Sources: CSIS Last Rounds Iran War Ceasefire, Air & Space Forces B-52 JDAMs Iran, CENTCOM Operation Epic Fury Fact Sheet
What the trend says
Across these conflicts, the shared theme is not that every air-launched cruise missile is used the same way. Russia has used Kh-series missiles in repeated bomber-launched salvos against Ukraine; Ukraine has used Storm Shadow and SCALP-EG as a smaller long-range strike inventory; and the United States has used JASSM-family weapons as part of a large air campaign against Iran.
The common feature is standoff reach. Air-launched cruise missiles let operators pair aircraft mobility with long-range precision attack, but the public record also shows limits: variant attribution can be uncertain in mixed Storm Shadow and SCALP reporting, missile stocks can be consumed quickly, and post-strike claims often need confirmation from recovered remnants, government statements, or independent investigations.
Sources: AP Sevastopol Shipyard Attack, OSMP Kh-55 Series, CSIS Last Rounds Iran War Ceasefire, UN Commission Ukraine Report