US Iran War Raises Fresh Missiles Question

The numbers have still raised eyebrows inside the administration. Hegseth denied shortages last month, but last week he told the Senate Appropriations Committee that the Pentagon needs another $87 billion to address critical shortfalls, including equipment. Much of the exact spending and the remaining stockpile levels are classified, but analysis from the Washington, DC-based Center for Strategic and International Studies suggests the drawdown has been steep and replacement will take time. Mark Cancian, a retired Marine Corps colonel and senior adviser at CSIS, said some missiles take one to five years to build, and that new money does not quickly turn into new weapons.

Among the most heavily used weapons were Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles, which the CSIS estimates topped 1,000 fired during the war. The group says the stockpile may not return to pre-war levels until 2031, and the latest version of the missile costs about $2.6 million each. Patriot interceptors were also used heavily, with as many as 1,430 fired from an estimated pre-war stockpile of about 2,330. Each one costs about $4 million, even though the Iranian drones they were used against were far cheaper.

The conflict also drew down supplies of THAAD interceptors, a more advanced system with longer range and higher intercept capability. CSIS estimates that between 190 and 290 were used from a pre-war stock of 360. With only nine THAAD batteries in the world and seven of them American, sustained use could leave the United States thinner on a system meant to counter threats from Russia, China or North Korea. That concern matters well beyond Iran, especially as US planners also watch the possibility of a future crisis over Taiwan and weigh how to keep enough firepower on hand for the Pacific.