Weapons Depleting at Alarming Rate... US Faces Supply Bottlenecks as Iran Evolves

As Iran's missile tactics evolve, an analysis indicates that the U.S. military is rapidly depleting its high-cost air defense weapons.

According to the Wall Street Journal, when Iran launched a missile attack against Jordan on September 8 and 9, the U.S. military fired more than 70 advanced air defense weapons at most.

According to some officials, in response to the attack consisting of about 20 ballistic missiles, the U.S. military reportedly fired 60 to 70 Patriot interceptor missiles and around 10 THAAD interceptor missiles.

Another official reported that this level of interceptor consumption is equivalent to the amount the U.S. military typically uses in a week during the ongoing conflict with Iran.

In particular, interception was reportedly made even more difficult due to the characteristics of this attack.

Iran attacked the U.S. military using multi-warhead missiles that split into multiple bodies as they approached their targets. As the war prolongs, Iran's missile tactics are evaluated to have evolved further compared to the past.

It was reported that Iran successfully brought some of the missiles hidden in underground facilities back to the surface following initial U.S. airstrikes, and recently resumed production of new missiles utilizing stockpiled parts.

On the other hand, the United States and its allies are reportedly facing pressure regarding the supply of interceptor missiles in the region due to production bottlenecks.

The U.S. Department of Defense denies this.

U.S. Department of Defense Spokesperson Sean Parnell refuted the claims, stating, "Reports that U.S. ammunition is depleting are entirely untrue," and adding, "The U.S. military remains the most powerful and capable fighting force in the world."

However, a recently released report by the U.S. Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General analyzed that this war has "led to strategic inventory shortages and exposed bottlenecks in the defense industrial base regarding ammunition replenishment."

(Reported by Kim Jiuk | Video by Na Hong-hee | Graphics by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.