The American military may not have enough missiles for a future conflict, having used its stockpiles to wage war on Iran, a CSIS analysis warns
The US military has dangerously depleted its stockpiles of critical missiles during the seven‑week war on Iran, creating a “near‑term risk” that could leave it vulnerable in any future conflict, according to a new analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
The report, published on Tuesday, found that intense combat operations have exhausted a staggering portion of America’s most advanced weaponry, including at least 45% of its inventory of Precision Strike Missiles (PrSM), nearly 50% of its Patriot air defense interceptors, and over half of its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missiles. The figures are said to closely align with classified Pentagon assessments.
The depletion is not limited to air defense systems. The analysis estimates that the campaign has also consumed approximately 30% of the US Tomahawk cruise missile stockpile, more than 20% of its long‑range Joint Air‑to‑Surface Standoff Missiles (JASSM), and around 20% of its SM‑3 and SM‑6 interceptors.
While the Pentagon maintains it has enough firepower to continue operations in the Middle East, the CSIS report warns that the drawdown has fundamentally undercut America’s ability to fight a major war elsewhere, particularly against a near‑peer adversary such as China.
The report’s authors warned that rebuilding the arsenals will be a slow and costly process. One of the experts told CNN it would take “one to four years to replenish these inventories and several years after that to expand them to where they need to be.”
Despite the alarming findings, the Pentagon has pushed back, with chief spokesperson Sean Parnell insisting that the US military “has everything it needs to execute at the time and place of the president’s choosing.”
President Donald Trump has also downplayed the issue, claiming the US has a “virtually unlimited” supply of missiles, even as his administration has requested a record-breaking military budget of around $1.5 trillion for the 2027 fiscal year, with much of it dedicated to replenishing stocks.
Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Pentagon had also approached major US car manufacturers General Motors and Ford about redirecting civilian factories towards producing munitions and other military equipment.
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