Critical US weapons stockpiles remain significantly depleted and will come under further pressure if strikes on Iran continue at the current pace. Military experts and analysts warn that this weapons situation could critically impact the US military's ability to fight a potential future war with China or North Korea, CNN reports.
The DOD is working on increasing the manufacturing pace and shortening the time necessary to approve new suppliers. It’ll probably go better now that Brandon Newsom, the Navy’s Director of Business Operations, is no longer employed there, following his interesting date with James O’Keefe.THE REAL SCALE OF LOSSES
During the early phase of the conflict with Iran, dubbed Operation Epic Fury, the US military expended thousands of key missiles used for long-range precision strikes and to defend against enemy air and missile attacks.
The US military's weapons shortage has no quick fix, according to the NYT.
By the time full-scale hostilities between the US and Iran ceased in April, the Pentagon had expended a colossal amount of advanced weapons, according to an analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS):
- at least half of its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) ballistic missile interceptors;
- nearly half of the Patriot missile interceptors;
- About 30% of the Tomahawk land-based cruise missiles
These figures were confirmed by three sources within the US Department of Defense familiar with the agency's internal stockpile assessments. While the subsequent months-long ceasefire and reduced intensity of mutual attacks have given US stockpiles some respite, the overall situation remains alarming, and stockpiles are significantly lower than desired.
YEARS OF RECOVERY
The main problem is the extremely slow pace of arsenal replenishment. As CSIS military analyst Mark Cancian notes, according to delivery schedules for the current fiscal year, the Pentagon is receiving only approximately 15 new Tomahawk missiles and 20 new Patriot missiles per month. As for THAAD systems, there are no projections for their delivery until 2026.
| Eh? We’re already halfway through 2026. Does the writer mean some later year? |
Elaine McCusker, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and former deputy and acting comptroller of the Pentagon, confirmed that replenishment lead times will generally be measured in years—two to five years for most weapons.
The situation is exacerbated by the political standoff in Washington. Defense procurement expert John Ferrari, a retired US Army major general, emphasized that since the war began, Congress has not appropriated a single dollar to replace even a single missile. The entire process relies on the usual, slow-moving annual peacetime budget adjustments. Although the White House has officially requested additional funding from lawmakers to cover the costs of the conflict with Iran, this document faces a difficult path through Congress.
AN ATTEMPT TO GET OUT OF THE CRISIS
In June, US President Donald Trump enacted the Defense Production Act to eliminate regulatory red tape and expedite missile production. A Pentagon spokesperson assured that the agency is actively implementing the best American innovations to ensure mass production and supply chain resilience. However, analysts note that the effect of this law will be minimal, as expanding production capacity is time-consuming.
To ease the burden on American production lines, the United States is entering into licensing agreements allowing other countries, particularly Germany and Ukraine, to independently produce Patriot interceptor missiles amid growing global demand. Trump announced the granting of such a license to Ukraine on Thursday during a speech on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Turkey. However, such international projects are also slow to develop: for example, it took Japan three years just to build a Patriot plant, and Germany, which began work on its own line in 2022, has yet to produce a single missile.
On the other hand, stockpiles of some other weapons, such as Precision Strike Missiles and Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles, are recovering more quickly. They are expected to reach pre-war levels by mid- to late 2027.
| Then tactics will be adjusted to fit with the supplies they have instead of the supplies they usually use. No big deal. |