Iran war strains US missile stocks; THAAD, Patriot may stay low until 2030

WASHINGTON: The Iran war has increased pressure on US missile defence stocks. There are fears that stocks of THAAD and Patriot missiles will remain extremely low even until 2030.

According to a report by the US broadcaster CBS News, about two months before the Iran war, former US Army Chief General Randy George had also warned the US administration of a possible shortage of defence weapons stocks.

Details of stocks

According to CBS News, the US had about 2,300 Patriot interceptors at the start of 2026. An estimated 1,050 to 1,430 of them have been used during the Iran war.

Before the war, the US had about 355 THAAD interceptors. Between 190 and 290 of them are reported to have been used.

The report says the reasons for the fall in stocks include the supply of defence weapons to Ukraine and Israel, as well as the Iran war. Because of this situation, restoring the stocks of advanced missile defence systems for the US military to the required level could become a major challenge.

According to CBS News, General Randy George’s assessment of defence stocks was also part of the Pentagon’s Global Force Management Plan for fiscal year 2027.

According to the report, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth removed General Randy George from his post after the Iran war began.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon has once again rejected claims of a shortage in US weapons stocks. It said the US has the weapons needed to carry out operations at any time and in any place.