Reports that the Iran war has consumed large portions of America’s long-range and defensive missile inventories prompted forceful denials from President Donald Trump and the Pentagon as officials weigh the military’s ability to sustain operations and respond to threats elsewhere.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
President Donald Trump and the Pentagon are disputing warnings that five months of warfare against Iran have left the United States dangerously short of critical missiles, even as internal figures reportedly show steep declines across several of the military’s most important offensive and defensive weapons systems.
Three people familiar with government stockpile data said U.S. forces have expended nearly all of the Army Tactical Missile Systems and Precision Strike Missiles available for operations against Iran. Two of the sources described the amount used as “virtually all,” according to Reuters.
The sources did not disclose the precise number of missiles remaining. Their account nevertheless raised concerns that the prolonged conflict could restrict the military’s options if the United States faced another crisis involving China, Russia or a different adversary.
The White House rejected the suggestion that the country lacks sufficient weapons to carry out current or future missions.
“We have far more munitions than anyone in the world, and far more than we need, despite the fact that an unprecedented amount was given away by Crooked Joe Biden and the Biden Administration to Ukraine and Europe at no cost, in one of many of their extremely dumb moves,” Trump said in a statement.
“Our defense companies are, at this moment, making more munitions than they have ever made before, in addition to expanding their plants and equipment at record levels. And as we build up, we will start issuing more to our allies in Europe and elsewhere.”
Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell also said the U.S. military retains the forces and weapons required to execute the president’s orders.
“America’s military is the most powerful in the world and has everything it needs to execute at the time and place of the President’s choosing. We have executed multiple successful operations across combatant commands while ensuring the U.S. military possesses a deep arsenal of capabilities to protect our people and our interests,” Parnell said in a statement.
ATACMS and PrSM are land-launched, surface-to-surface weapons capable of accurately striking distant targets while allowing U.S. forces to operate outside some of the most heavily defended areas. Each missile costs more than $1 million.
The PrSM is the newer and more advanced weapon, offering greater range as the Army gradually retires ATACMS. Because PrSM entered service relatively recently, its inventory was already limited when Trump and Israel began the war against Iran in February.
The military has placed significant PrSM orders for delivery in 2027, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. A March CSIS report said U.S. forces had used the missile against targets inside Iran.
ATACMS have also been supplied to Ukraine, giving Ukrainian forces the ability to attack targets inside Russia.
One person familiar with the U.S. stockpile said the large drawdown reflected the Trump administration’s preference for long-range standoff weapons over piloted bombing missions that would expose aircraft and crews to Iranian air defenses.
That strategy has reduced immediate risks to American pilots but consumed missiles that could be important in a future conflict against an adversary with advanced air-defense capabilities, particularly China.
If Trump orders another large-scale offensive against Iran, reduced missile availability could require the military to rely more heavily on manned aircraft and other operations carrying greater danger to U.S. personnel.
Central Command has nearly exhausted the land-based precision missiles assigned to the Middle East before the war began, a fourth person familiar with the matter said. The command has replenished some of its inventory by transferring weapons from U.S. military stocks stationed in other parts of the world.
All four people spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to discuss sensitive or classified stockpile information.
The reported figures have circulated through the federal government during internal discussions over whether continued strikes on Iran could reduce U.S. inventories below levels needed to deter adversaries or address emergencies in other regions.
Trump initially predicted the joint U.S.-Israeli operation would be brief. Instead, the fighting has continued for five months and consumed substantial quantities of both offensive strike missiles and defensive interceptors.
Analysts acknowledge that American defense manufacturers are producing several types of missiles and artillery shells at historically high levels. They caution, however, that even record manufacturing may not keep pace with the requirements of an extended, high-intensity war.
Lockheed Martin produces ATACMS, PrSM and the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, commonly known as THAAD. The company did not immediately respond to questions regarding stockpile levels or Trump’s statements.
Raytheon, an RTX subsidiary that manufactures Tomahawk cruise missiles and Patriot interceptors, also did not immediately respond.
The reported depletion is not limited to the Army’s long-range strike weapons.
Military leaders have warned Trump for several weeks that supplies of Patriot interceptors and other defensive munitions used to destroy incoming missiles are declining, according to two people familiar with those discussions.
Several media organizations reported last week that Trump declined to order another major attack on Iran partly because military advisers warned that the operation could further weaken U.S. reserves.
One U.S. official disputed that explanation, saying the president held back because Gulf nations urged Washington not to escalate the conflict.
CSIS estimated that American forces expended approximately 65% of the nation’s Patriot interceptor inventory between February and July. The organization also calculated that U.S. stocks of THAAD interceptors had fallen by at least 38% since the beginning of the war.
Two people familiar with internal government data said those estimates were consistent with U.S. figures, although Reuters did not independently review the records.
Patriot and THAAD systems are among the country’s most effective defenses against ballistic missiles and are used to protect U.S. forces, military installations, cities and allied nations.
The Navy’s Tomahawk inventory has also fallen sharply. One source said the United States has fired slightly less than half of its worldwide supply since the Iran conflict began, though that figure could not be independently verified.
Tomahawks are launched from destroyers, cruisers and submarines, allowing the Navy to attack heavily defended targets without sending pilots directly into hostile airspace.
Raytheon and the Pentagon have reached a tentative multiyear agreement intended to increase Tomahawk production. Similar efforts are underway to accelerate manufacturing of other weapons consumed during the war.
The reported stockpile decline has added to the continuing dispute over Trump’s authority to conduct sustained military operations against Iran without congressional approval.
The administration has not requested a formal declaration of war or an authorization for the use of military force, despite the conflict’s duration and mounting demands on U.S. weapons inventories.
Administration officials must now balance the requirements of continued operations against Iran with the need to defend American personnel and allies, rebuild depleted reserves and preserve sufficient military strength to confront another major threat elsewhere in the world.
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