The United States might be facing a missile shortage. The American military has significantly reduced its stocks of various missiles since the start of the war against Iran on February 28, as reported by CNN.
There is a potential risk of ammunition scarcity in the future in the coming years, according to experts and individuals familiar with recent internal assessments of the Department of Defense’s stockpiles, cited by American media.
A new analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) reveals that during the last seven weeks of conflict, the United States has used at least 45% of their stock of precision strike missiles, at least half of their THAAD defense missile inventory, and nearly 50% of their Patriot air defense interceptor missile stockpile.
While the United States likely has enough missiles in the short term to continue military operations against Iran, the remaining stocks may not be sufficient to combat a comparable adversary like China, notes the CSIS.
It could take between one and four years to replenish these stocks and several additional years to increase them to the necessary level, according to Mark Cancian, a retired U.S. Marine Corps colonel and coauthor of the CSIS report.
When questioned by CNN, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell tried to reassure by stating that the military “has everything it needs to act at the time and place chosen by the president.” He emphasized that since President Trump took office, numerous operations have been conducted across combat commands, ensuring the American military has a significant arsenal to protect the population and interests.
Additionally, the U.S. military has also used around 30% of its Tomahawk missile stock, over 20% of its long-range air-to-ground missiles (JASSM) stock, and about 20% of its SM-3 and SM-6 missiles, according to the CSIS analysis, which estimates the replacement of these systems would take approximately four to five years.
