As the U.S. military pours a massive amount of weapons into the Middle East in response to Iran, concerns are growing that its defensive capability to counter potential threats from China and Russia is weakening. With weapon stockpiles plunging, some warn that serious gaps could open in the U.S. military's global posture.
On the 28th, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), citing U.S. military officials, assessed that stocks of PAC-3 Patriot air-defense interceptor missiles and ATACMS surface-to-surface missiles in Europe have surpassed crisis levels. ATACMS is short for the Army Tactical Missile System. The system can use existing mobile rocket launchers without separate modification, giving it high tactical value. Each round costs about $1 million (about 1.4 billion won) and has a range of more than 300 km.
The United States and Iran have halted direct strikes against each other recently as the Trump administration increased economic sanctions instead of a military response. However, the WSJ reported, citing experts, that missile stocks have already plunged, and it could take years to refill the weapons brought from other countries such as Korea, Japan, and Germany back to previous levels. The U.S. military has also reduced stocks of other weapons deployed in Europe, including precision strike missiles and guided rockets, to extremely low levels. As tactical weapons such as THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) interceptor missiles and the Merops counter-drone system move to the Middle East, the burden on the global defense network has increased.
By mid-July, the United States had used about 1,700 Patriot air-defense interceptor missiles and more than 200 THAAD interceptor missiles in the Iran war. U.S. Navy ships also fired an additional 150 Standard Missiles to shoot down Iranian missiles and drones. Iran, for its part, is believed to have fired more than 1,500 ballistic missiles and more than 6,000 large drones since the war began on Feb. 28. In particular, Iran continues attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, a major chokepoint, while occasionally increasing the number of launches. To conserve interceptor missile stocks, the U.S. military has been refraining from tit-for-tat retaliation against ship attacks in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Trump administration dismissed concerns about weapon shortages. White House Spokesperson Anna Kelly said, "The U.S. military possesses ample and more-than-sufficient materiel, ammunition, and stockpiles to achieve all of President Trump's strategic objectives and beyond." Defense Department Spokesperson Sean Parnell also strongly rebutted, saying, "The claim that the United States is short on ammunition is false. These are the real-world consequences that occur when fake news outlets irresponsibly amplify such lies," and, "When such news comes out, our adversaries grow emboldened to provoke or attack U.S. forces." North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Spokesperson Martin O'Donnell said, "NATO has sufficient air-defense ammunition, including Patriot missiles, to defend ourselves," adding, "And we still have enough to continue donating to Ukraine."
However, even within some corners of the Republican Party in U.S. politics, once considered friendly to Trump, there was concern that the decline in U.S. weapon stockpiles is directly affecting support for Ukraine and the European security landscape. Republican Sen. Roger Wicker said, "As we deal with the process of reassessing troop deployments in Europe, we must consider the extreme scenario in which a wounded Putin vents his anger."