The U.S. military’s weapons stockpiles of crucial air defense missiles continue to decrease after the major flare-up in the Iran war earlier this month.
Researchers from the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank estimated in a new report released on Monday that the U.S. military has used approximately a third of its Patriot missile interceptors and about half of its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense ballistic missile interceptors during the conflict.
The U.S. military had approximately 2,330 Patriot missile interceptors before the war, had roughly 1,030 at the time President Donald Trump announced the ceasefire in early April, and that total is now down to between 759 and 827, according to the report. If the military still has 827 patriot missile interceptors, it means it has used roughly 1,500 of them in the war, or slightly under 65% of their prewar inventory.
The military had approximately 452 THAAD interceptors prior to the war, had between 232 and 262 at the start of the April ceasefire, and has been able to replenish some of the inventory to between roughly 234 and 278 interceptors.
“Diminished stockpiles may force the United States and its coalition partners to take more risks with interceptions,” CSIS report authors Mark Cancian and Chris Park wrote. “There are no good alternatives to Patriot and THAAD for ballistic missile defense. Navy ships, with Standard Missiles that can intercept such threats, generally are too far away.”
The continued use of these interceptors and the lack of obvious alternatives could factor into President Donald Trump’s decision-making as it relates to the Iran war.
On Monday, the president told reporters the military has plenty of air defense munitions but added that former President Joe Biden “gave a lot of it to Ukraine, and so we’re building that up.”
“We’re in very good shape, but for some of the more sophisticated stuff, we’d certainly like to have more,” Trump said.
Trump told Fox News on Wednesday morning that the U.S. is “going to beat the f***ing s*** out of them,” after Iran launched a surprise attack by firing ballistic missiles at a U.S. base in Jordan a day earlier. The U.S. military intercepted all of the fired missiles.
The U.S. also conducted joint strikes with the Saudis targeting Iranian-backed militias in Iraq that have attacked U.S. personnel and bases.
Pentagon officials, including War Secretary Pete Hegseth, maintain that the department has everything it needs to carry out the president’s approved missions, though the department had already begun an effort to expand the defense industrial base’s production of these interceptors prior to the start of the war. Those efforts have continued during the conflict.
On Monday, the Pentagon announced new agreements with L3Harris to rapidly expand production of specific key components found within Patriot missile interceptors and a joint deal signed by the DoW, L3Harris, and Lockheed Martin for critical components of the THAAD interceptor. These deals were the latest in a series of them by the War Department.
TRUMP: US WILL ‘BEAT THE F**ING S*** OUT OF’ IRAN AFTER SURPRISE ATTACK
Hegseth said last week that the war in Iran has cost an estimated $37.5 billion during a hearing in front of the Senate Appropriations Committee. He was there to urge senators to pass the Trump administration’s supplemental budget request for $87 billion, $67 billion of which is intended for the War Department. Within that $67 billion, $21 billion is specifically for critical munition replenishment.
The continued use of critical munitions could create “a near- to medium-term risk for U.S. readiness to fight a war against China in the western Pacific,” the CSIS authors wrote.
Continue reading...
[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
