CNN ran a story last night on the shortages of critical munitions that have developed as a result of the US war on Iran. “The US military has significantly depleted its stockpile of key missiles during the war with Iran and created a ‘near-term risk’ of running out of ammunition in a future conflict should one arise in the next few years, according to experts and three people familiar with recent internal Defense Department stockpile assessments,” CNN says.
“Over the last seven weeks of war, the US military has expended at least 45% of its stockpile of Precision Strike Missiles (the replacement for the ATACMS missile and still under development —ed.); at least half of its inventory of THAAD missiles, which are designed to intercept ballistic missiles; and nearly 50% of its stockpile of Patriot air defense interceptor missiles, according to a new analysis conducted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“In the short term, the US likely maintains enough bombs and missiles to continue combat operations against Iran, in any scenario, should the shaky ceasefire fail to hold. But the number of critical munitions remaining in US stockpiles is no longer sufficient to confront a near-peer adversary, like China, and it will likely take years before the inventory of those weapons returns to pre-war levels, the CSIS analysis concludes.”
