Iran war has consumed nearly 67% of US Patriot interceptor stockpile, report says
Stars and Stripes • July 30, 2026
U.S. soldiers remove a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system power generation unit during maintenance operations in the Middle East. A renewed war with Iran would further strain diminished U.S. interceptor stockpiles, with Patriot inventories now around 800 and THAAD inventories at about 250, according to a new report. ( U.S. Army)
In less than six months of war with Iran, the U.S. has used nearly two-thirds of its Patriot interceptor inventory, according to a new analysis that raises readiness concerns as fighting intensifies and the Pentagon scrambles to replenish stockpiles.
The U.S. and its partners have relied heavily on Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, systems to defend troops and bases against Iranian ballistic missile attacks across the Middle East.
While the air defense campaign has been largely successful, it has come at a steep cost to U.S. interceptor stockpiles, according to analysts at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
They estimate that the U.S. has between 759 and 827 Patriot interceptors left, roughly a third of its prewar inventory. The U.S. also has an estimated 234 to 278 THAAD interceptors remaining, down from 452 before the war.
“Diminished stockpiles may force the United States and its coalition partners to take more risks with interceptions,” CSIS analysts Mark Cancian and Chris Park said. “There are no good alternatives to Patriot and THAAD for ballistic missile defense.”
The report comes amid escalating hostilities in the Middle East. A tentative ceasefire reached in June quickly fell apart after both sides accused the other of violating the agreement.
President Donald Trump has said he is willing to continue attacks until Iran agrees to another deal.
U.S. Central Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in the Middle East, said it had conducted a “heavy wave of strikes” Wednesday evening after Iran targeted U.S. forces.
CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper has given Trump plans for a punishing two-week air campaign against Iran, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Escalating the conflict could further extend a war that has consumed large amounts of U.S. munitions, driven up global fuel prices, inflicted casualties on hundreds of American forces and faced growing domestic disapproval.
U.S. officials for months have pushed back on reports of dwindling stockpiles, with some suggesting that such reports threaten national security.
Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told NBC News that the current supply is adequate.
“The U.S. military has everything it needs to conduct this campaign as effectively as it needs to be,” he said. “The people that are leaking this nonsense deserve to be in jail.”
The think tank analysts based their estimates on Pentagon budget materials for fiscal year 2027 and publicly released information, according to the report.
The U.S. has also moved to rapidly expand production of air defense interceptors. Officials have acknowledged that the economics of the air defense campaign are heavily lopsided.
Iran’s one-way Shahed-136 attack drone costs roughly $50,000 to produce, while a single Patriot interceptor costs about $4 million.
The Army said this week that it is expanding a one-year contract with Lockheed Martin into a seven-year, $58 billion deal to produce Patriot interceptors.
The modification will provide manufacturers with the necessary demand signal to establish production lines, the Army said, allowing the industrial base to rapidly produce more interceptors when and where they are needed most.