CNN has reported that approximately 80 percent of the US stockpile of THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) missile defense systems has been utilized during the ongoing conflict with Iran.
According to the CNN report, the US military has used nearly four-fifths of its pre-conflict THAAD missile inventory since hostilities began. During the same period, roughly half of the interceptors for the Patriot missile defense system were also deployed.
The report cites two sources familiar with the matter.
Earlier, Reuters and CBS News had reported that the US had exhausted nearly its entire global stockpile of long-range precision missiles in the conflict with Iran.
CNN stated that President Donald Trump decided to call off a planned major strike on Iranian infrastructure after considering two factors: the depletion of weapon stockpiles and the fear of potential retaliatory attacks by Iran against US allies in the Middle East.
However, the Pentagon and the White House do not share concerns regarding a shortage of weapon stockpiles.
Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson, told CNN, “The US military is the most powerful in the world. It possesses everything necessary to conduct operations whenever and wherever the President directs.”
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly stated that the US military has sufficient weapons, ammunition, and stockpiles to achieve President Trump’s strategic objectives.
She added that this capability exceeds what is actually required.
