US may face missile shortages if another war erupts: Report

The United States is at risk of running out of key missiles if another major war breaks out after significantly depleting its stockpiles during recent military operations in Iran, News.Az reports, citing CNN.

According to a new analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), over a seven-week period of conflict, the US military used approximately 45% of its Precision Strike Missiles, at least half of its THAAD interceptor missiles, and nearly 50% of its Patriot air defense missiles.

The report said these estimates closely align with classified assessments from the Pentagon.

The analysis further stated that the US also expended roughly 30% of its Tomahawk cruise missiles, more than 20% of its long-range Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles, and around 20% of its SM-3 and SM-6 missile systems during the same period.

While the Pentagon has already signed contracts earlier this year aimed at increasing missile production capacity, the report noted that replenishing these depleted stockpiles will still take between three and five years, even with expanded manufacturing efforts.

In the short term, the report suggests that the United States likely retains sufficient munitions to continue operations against Iran should the fragile ceasefire collapse. However, it warns that current stock levels would be inadequate for a conflict against a near-peer adversary such as China.

The CSIS analysis also cautioned that rebuilding stockpiles to pre-war levels could take several years, creating a temporary but significant gap in US military readiness.

“The high munitions expenditures have created a window of increased vulnerability in the western Pacific,” said Mark Cancian, a retired US Marine Corps Colonel and one of the authors of the CSIS report, in comments to CNN.

He added, “It will take one to four years to replenish these inventories and several years after that to expand them to where they need to be.”

In response, Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell told CNN that the US military “has everything it needs to execute at the time and place of the President’s choosing.”

He also stated, “Since President (Donald) Trump took office, we have executed multiple successful operations across combatant commands while ensuring the US military possesses a deep arsenal of capabilities to protect our people and our interests.”

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev