U.S. media reports and analyses say that ongoing military operations against Iran have depleted a significant portion of the United States’ stocks of offensive and interceptor missiles, potentially limiting its ability to continue the war and prepare for possible crises in Asia and Europe. The administration of President Donald Trump, however, denies that there is a shortage and affirms that the U.S. arsenal can meet current and future requirements.
Decline in offensive missiles
Ellie Cook, Newsweek’s chief defense correspondent, said U.S. forces had used nearly their entire stock of Army Tactical Missile Systems, or «ATACMS», and precision-strike missiles. These ballistic missiles are launched from land and enable strikes against targets deep inside Iran from extended ranges without exposing U.S. fighter jets to air-defense threats.
Newsweek, citing Reuters, reported that the number of Tomahawk cruise missiles remaining was less than half the total stockpile, after the U.S. Navy launched more than 1,000 missiles of this type since the war with Iran began in February. According to The Wall Street Journal, the number of missiles used in the first month alone exceeded 850.
Depletion of air-defense systems
The depletion, according to the reports, extended to air-defense systems. Newsweek, citing the Center for Strategic and International Studies, reported that the stock of missiles for the THAAD interceptor system had fallen from about 452 before the war to about 234 by the end of last July, while the stock of Patriot missiles declined from about 2,330 to approximately 759 during the same period.
CNN, citing military sources, reported estimates that the United States had used between 65 and 80% of its THAAD missiles, along with about half of its Patriot missiles. These estimates have raised concerns about the level of protection afforded to U.S. military facilities in the region against Iranian ballistic-missile barrages.
Newsweek also cited a report by the Heritage Foundation warning that the current U.S. stock of interceptor missiles had become «insufficient» for an armed conflict with China. The report said U.S. forces could exhaust all their interceptor missiles within «the first few days» if their bases in the Pacific came under a surprise Chinese attack.
In another report by Ellie Cook, Newsweek said the concerns included the security of U.S. bases in the Middle East, which had come under attack by Iran and by groups allied with Tehran. According to data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, U.S. facilities in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan came under dozens of attacks between June 18 and July 28.
Repercussions extending to Ukraine and Asia
The effects of the shortage extend beyond the Middle East. Newsweek said Ukraine was already facing a shortage of Patriot interceptor missiles, affecting its ability to confront Russian attacks. The report quoted Ukrainian authorities as saying that no ballistic missile was intercepted during Russia’s latest attack on Kyiv because of a lack of interceptor missiles, resulting in deaths and widespread destruction.
The Atlantic magazine, in a report by journalists Nancy Youssef and Jonathan Lemire, said the munitions crisis was beginning to affect the course of the war and narrow the Trump administration’s room for maneuver. It said the remaining quantities of some vital weapons had fallen to critical levels equal to only about 20% of what the U.S. Department of War (the Pentagon) requires for military planning operations.
According to the report, the impact of the shortage is not limited to operations against Iran; it could also weaken Washington’s ability to deal with a potential escalation in Asia or with simultaneous threats from Russia or China. It added that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth had asked Republicans in Congress to allocate billions of dollars to rebuild the stockpiles.
Defense production in escalation calculations
The Atlantic said the funding would not provide a quick solution because of the limited production capacity of the U.S. defense industry, meaning the missiles covered by the new contracts would not arrive until the coming years. The magazine predicted that supply and demand for systems such as Patriot would not come into balance before the end of the current decade.
The magazine quoted a senior official familiar with the matter as saying that Trump had expressed anger during a meeting at Camp David after being briefed on a security assessment showing a decline in the stock of munitions needed for any further escalation against Iran.
He described reports of munitions shortages as «false» and called leaks concerning them «treason», stressing that U.S. companies continued to ship «large quantities» of munitions as needed.
The reports indicate that the continuation of operations depends not only on the United States’ ability to carry out strikes, but also on its ability to intercept Iranian responses and replenish the munitions consumed. This places the production capacity of the defense industries at the heart of Washington’s calculations regarding escalation and the diplomatic path, alongside the requirements of maintaining its readiness in other parts of the world.
