US munition depletion in Iran war raises “soft spots” against Russia & China: report

The heavy expenditure of advanced US munitions in the ongoing war with Iran has left critical gaps in stockpiles needed to deter or respond to threats from China and Russia, according to anonymous US officials cited in a Wall Street Journal report.

Military planners say the rapid transfer of weapons to the Middle East has diminished American firepower elsewhere.

Inventories in Europe of PAC-3 Patriot air-defense interceptors and ATACMS surface-to-surface missiles have fallen to levels described as “beyond critical,” some officials told the Journal.

THAAD interceptors and counter-drone systems have also been redirected, forcing US European Command to adjust operational plans.

By mid-July, the United States had expended roughly 1,700 Patriot interceptors and more than 200 THAAD antimissile interceptors, while Navy ships fired about 150 Standard Missile interceptors against Iranian missiles and drones, according to the report.

Iran had launched more than 1,500 ballistic missiles and 6,000 large drones during the conflict.

Air-defense units shifted from Japan, South Korea, and Germany have created “soft spots” that could take years to refill.

Officials assess that the Pentagon may now be unable to fully execute existing contingency plans to defend Taiwan if China moves against the island in the near term.

While neither a full-scale Russian attack on NATO nor a Chinese invasion of Taiwan is viewed as imminent, the shortages are creating vulnerabilities in Washington’s global posture.

Experts including Tom Karako of the Center for Strategic and International Studies have described the depletion as a “generational annihilation of the means of conventional deterrence,” arguing it is “impossible for that not to have a significant effect on the decision calculus of Russia and China.”

Replenishing the stocks will take years.

Production rates for high-end systems such as Patriots and Tomahawks remain limited, and the defense industrial base is already stretched by prior aid to Ukraine.

Analysts note that pre-war inventories were already insufficient for a high-intensity fight with a peer competitor.

The White House and Pentagon have rejected claims of scarcity.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said the US military “has more than enough munitions, ammo, and stockpiles to serve all of President Trump’s strategic goals and beyond.”

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell called reports of shortages “false.”

Allies in Asia and Europe have expressed growing concern that the prolonged Middle East campaign is eroding readiness for potential crises closer to home.