The Washington, D.C.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies put out a report on July 27 warning that diminishing US interceptor inventories would entail future risks if not corrected. According to the report, the US Patriot missile inventory had dropped from 2,330 on Feb. 27, to 1,030 on April 8 and then to between 759 and 827 on July 27, a reduction of about two-thirds. The stockpile of THAAD missiles similarly dropped from 452 on Feb. 27 to between 234 and 278 on July 27.
“Diminished stockpiles may force the United States and its coalition partners to take more risks with interceptions. There are no good alternatives to Patriot and THAAD for ballistic missile defense. Navy ships, with Standard Missiles that can intercept such threats, generally are too far away,” the CSIS report says. “Expended munitions create a near- to medium-term risk for U.S. readiness to fight a war against China in the western Pacific.”
