The United States has utilized nearly its entire stockpile of long-range precision missiles over the course of five months of fighting against Iran, Reuters reported today (Tuesday) According to the report, the depletion of inventories is raising concerns among administration and U.S. defense officials regarding military readiness for future conflicts. Trump dismissed the claims: “We have far more ammunition than any other country”
The report claims that this primarily involves surface-to-surface ATACMS and PrSM missiles, which are considered key assets in the U.S. arsenal due to their ability to strike targets with high precision from a safe distance. Two sources claimed the U.S. used “nearly all” stockpiles of these missile types, though they did not state how many remain in military hands.
The inventory decline is raising alarm among U.S. administration and defense officials, according to the report, with fears that it could undermine U.S. deterrence against additional rivals, including Russia and China. However, another official stated that U.S. Central Command managed to replenish part of the stockpiles by transferring munitions from other global theaters.
U.S. President Donald Trump pushed back against the report, stating that “there is far more ammunition than any other country in the world, and far more than we need.” According to him, U.S. defense contractors are currently manufacturing ammunition at record rates and expanding their production capacity.
Alongside this, Reuters reported that U.S. air defense inventories have also eroded during the war. According to data from the CSIS research center, between February and July, approximately 65% of Patriot interceptors and about 38% of THAAD system interceptors were expended, while nearly half of the Tomahawk cruise missile inventory has been utilized since the start of fighting.