iran

The United States has burned through nearly all of its long-range precision missiles during five months of fighting in Iran, according to three people familiar with internal defense data, fueling concern inside Washington about military readiness for future crises. The weapons in question are primarily the Army’s ground launched systems, the Army Tactical Missile System and the newer Precision Strike Missile. Two of the sources said the military has expended virtually its entire supply of both. These munitions let forces strike targets accurately from a safe distance and have already proven vital in Ukraine, where American supplied versions allowed Ukrainian troops to hit targets deep inside Russian territory. The Precision Strike Missile represents a more advanced generation designed to eventually replace the shorter range ATACMS. Defense analysts note that such long-range munitions, each costing more than a million dollars, would also play a central role in any future confrontation with China. The sources declined to specify exact remaining quantities of either weapon. President Donald Trump launched the joint offensive against Iran alongside Israel in February, initially predicting a brief campaign. Instead, the conflict has stretched on for months, and the three sources said they worry that shrinking missile reserves could weaken the country’s ability to deter rivals such as Russia and China going forward. A fourth person familiar with the matter said Central Command, which oversees American forces across the Middle East, has nearly exhausted the land based missiles it held before the war started, though it has managed to replenish supplies by drawing from military stockpiles based elsewhere around the world. All four sources spoke on condition of anonymity. Asked to respond to the stockpile figures, the White House shared a statement from Trump asserting the country holds “far more munitions than anyone in the world” and more than it currently requires. He added that American defense manufacturers are producing at record volumes while also expanding factory capacity. Analysts largely agree that certain categories of weapons, including artillery shells and select missile types, are rolling off production lines at historic rates. Still, they caution that overall output may fall well short of what a prolonged conflict would demand. Lockheed Martin, which manufactures both the ATACMS and the Precision Strike Missile along with the THAAD missile defense system, did not respond to questions about the stockpile figures or the president’s remarks. Raytheon, maker of the Tomahawk cruise missile and the Patriot interceptor, also did not respond to inquiries. Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell defended the state of American readiness, saying the military maintains a deep arsenal capable of protecting national interests and has carried out multiple successful operations across combatant commands. Internal debate over munitions The stockpile figures have circulated through federal government channels over the past week amid tense internal discussions about how much longer American forces can keep striking Iranian targets without depleting reserves needed to respond to crises elsewhere in the world. One source said the drawdown in ATACMS and Precision Strike Missile inventories reflects a deliberate choice by the administration to avoid riskier tactics, such as sending piloted aircraft to drop bombs directly over Iranian territory. Because these missiles allow strikes from a distance, analysts consider them especially valuable against an adversary with sophisticated air defenses, a category that includes China. A March assessment from the Center for Strategic and International Studies noted that these weapons have already been used against targets inside Iran. That same assessment found that Precision Strike Missile stocks started the conflict relatively low, since the weapon is still new to the arsenal, though the Army has placed large orders set for delivery in 2027. Military officials have said ATACMS production is winding down as manufacturing shifts toward the newer missile system. Military leaders have spent weeks warning the president that stocks of defensive weapons, including the Patriot interceptor system effective against ballistic missiles, are running low, according to two of the sources. Several news outlets reported last week that Trump opted against launching another large scale offensive inside Iran partly because military advisers raised concerns about dwindling supplies. A separate US official disputed that account, saying the president held off due to pressure from Gulf states rather than munitions concerns. The extended campaign has also reignited debate over the scope of presidential war powers, since no formal declaration of war or authorization for the use of military force has gone before Congress. Defensive systems also strained A separate assessment published last week by the Center for Strategic and International Studies estimated that the military used roughly 65 percent of its Patriot interceptor stock between February and July, while THAAD interceptor supplies fell by at least 38 percent compared with pre war levels. Two of the sources said those figures align with internal government data, though the underlying numbers could not be independently verified. The military has also used up close to half of its worldwide Tomahawk cruise missile inventory since fighting began, according to one source, a figure that likewise could not be independently confirmed. The Tomahawk, typically launched from Navy destroyers, cruisers and submarines, has long served as the primary tool for striking heavily defended targets without exposing pilots to risk. Raytheon, now part of RTX, has reached a preliminary multi year deal with the Pentagon to expand Tomahawk output alongside other munitions as officials work to rebuild depleted stockpiles amid the ongoing conflict.