Patriots To Tomahawks: US Blew Through Weapons Worth Billions In Iran War

Officials noted the war drained the global stockpile and required rapid relays of bombs and missiles from Asia and Europe, potentially reducing combat readiness of other regional commands against adversaries like Russia and China, and highlighting a call for cheaper munitions such as drones.

The White House dismissed the NYT report as false, stating the US possesses abundant weapons and munitions to defend the homeland and support military operations.

The Pentagon requested additional funding from Congress to replenish depleted munitions, with replenishment potentially taking years at current production rates, according to expert commentary.

The Pentagon had not disclosed total munitions used in 38 days of war before a cease-fire took effect two weeks earlier, though US forces said they struck more than 13,000 targets; officials told NYT that the figure masks repeated strikes on large targets.

The report noted that more than 1,000 Precision Strike and ATACMS missiles had been used, leaving inventories worrisomely low.

The NYT report stated the US fired more than 1,200 Patriot interceptor missiles (costing more than $4 million each), with about 600 Patriot missiles produced in 2025.

The military fired more than 1,000 Tomahawk missiles (costing about $3.6 million each), leaving an estimated 3,000 Tomahawks in stockpiles according to a CSIC study.

The New York Times, citing internal Pentagon estimates, reported the US fired roughly 1,100 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Range (JASSM-ER), near the remaining 1,500 in stockpile, at about $1.1 million each.

In the first two days of the conflict, reports claimed the US burned through about $5.6 billion worth of munitions.

Iran's response to US-Israeli strikes on February 28 forced US forces to draw heavily from their stockpile of high-end munitions, including Tomahawk cruise missiles and Patriot interceptors.