The U.S. Ministry of National Defense is considering diverting weapons that were slated for Ukraine to the Middle East as key munitions are being rapidly depleted due to the prolonged war with Iran, according to a report.
On the 26th, the Washington Post (WP), citing multiple officials, said the U.S. Ministry of National Defense is internally discussing a plan to redirect some weapons intended to support Ukraine to the Middle East. However, the final decision has not yet been made.
As the war with Iran has entered its fourth week and the burden on ammunition stocks has grown, the United States is seen as considering such a plan. According to the British daily the Telegraph, U.S. forces used more than 11,000 rounds in the first 16 days of the war, and in the process, key stockpiles such as THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) and the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) were rapidly depleted. In expense terms, the volume amounts to $26 billion (about 39 trillion won).
Weapons under consideration for diversion include THAAD as well as air defense interceptor missiles. They are the most needed to strengthen defenses against Iran's drone and ballistic missile attacks, and in fact, the U.S. military has recently redeployed air defense missiles stationed in Europe and East Asia to the Middle East under the Central Command (CENTCOM).
The issue is that weapons secured through the NATO-led "Priority Ukraine Requirements List (PURL)" could be diverted. PURL is a program in which European countries bear the expense to supply U.S.-made weapons to Kyiv, and it is known that about 75% of Ukraine's Patriot battery missiles and most air defense ammunition were supplied to Ukraine through this program.
U.S. President Donald Trump is implicitly acknowledging the possibility of diversion. While avoiding direct mention related to weapon diversion, he said, "We always do that," and the U.S. Ministry of National Defense recently notified Congress of a plan to use about $750 million (about 1.1303 trillion won) of funds procured through the PURL program to replenish its own military stockpiles.
Amid this trend, anxiety is growing in Europe. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte emphasized that "we are continuing to supply weapons so far," but some European diplomats raised the possibility that future supplies could be disrupted. Some have also suggested that air defense capabilities could be excluded from future Ukraine aid packages.
Ukrainian officials are also expressing a sense of crisis. Ukraine's ambassador to the United States, Olha Stefanishyna, said in a statement that "the supply disruption that occurred in the early Middle East operations has been resolved," while acknowledging that "Ukraine has entered a period of considerable uncertainty." President Volodymyr Zelensky also said, "The Middle East issue will influence President Trump's future course," and noted that "subtle differences in position are being sensed in Washington."
Meanwhile, the U.S. Ministry of National Defense is also pursuing an expansion of its own ammunition production. Earlier, Ministry of National Defense Vice Minister Steve Feinberg set as key tasks over the past year the strengthening of the U.S. defense industrial base and expanding precision weapon production, and requested from Congress an additional $200 billion (about 300 trillion won) to cover war expense and expand production infrastructure.
However, observers note that this faces practical limits. The U.S. defense industry is confronting structural constraints such as labor shortages and limited production infrastructure, making it difficult to boost output in the short term, and China holds the supply chain for key minerals such as tungsten, delaying raw material procurement.
The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a British think tank, estimated that it would take at least five years for the United States to replenish roughly 535 Tomahawk missiles used in this war.