A report released by researchers at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) notes that the US military's weapons stockpile, including its inventory of crucial air defense missiles, continues to deplete due to the war waged against Iran since February 28.
The estimate of CSIS analysts is that prior to the start of the war declared by President Donald Trump, the US armed forces had 2,200 Patriot missiles (of the two most modernized variants of the platform) and 452 THAAD missiles.
However, after five months of fighting against the Islamic Republic, the number would have dropped to fewer than 827 Patriot interceptors in the US stockpile and fewer than 278 THAAD ballistic missile interceptors.
This information was corroborated by the CNN news network when consulting three sources familiar with the matter who, on condition of not revealing their identity, agreed that the amounts exposed are consistent with the government's internal figures.
The delicate thing about the issue is that, without the aforementioned defense mechanisms, the US military cannot intercept enemy ballistic missiles.
In fact, the million-dollar amount involved in producing them and the manufacturing time required could represent an enormous challenge for the Trump administration, at least that is what the authors of the CSIS report estimate.
"Declining stockpiles could force the United States and its coalition partners to take greater risks with interceptions. There are no good alternatives to the Patriot and THAAD systems for ballistic missile defense. Navy ships, equipped with Standard missiles capable of intercepting such threats, are generally too far away," part of the text indicates.
In contrast, President Donald Trump overturned the exposed data and maintained in a meeting with the press that the US military's weapons and ammunition inventories are "in very good condition."
Previously, General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had stated that, without additional funding, the Pentagon would not obtain the ammunition required to confront the war conflict in the Middle East.
The CSIS report concludes that it could take years to fully replenish US stockpiles of high-end munitions used in Iran.
