.
Posted on 08/08/2026 1:21:02 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
The Iran war has depleted U.S. weapons stockpiles, resulting in a significant erosion of firepower. A more drawn-out Iran conflict benefits Moscow and Beijing, some analysts say.
President Trump’s war against Iran has depleted U.S. weapons stockpiles to troubling levels, siphoning supplies from Asia and Europe, according to senior officials.
The rapidly shrinking supply of air-defense missiles and other critical weaponry in Europe and Asia not only leaves the U.S. military less equipped, but could also leave Russia and China feeling emboldened should they contemplate a potential conflict with the United States, experts said.
Bombing Iran burned through thousands of multimillion-dollar missiles that contain precision parts from a global web of suppliers and can take years to produce. Defending against Iran’s retaliatory barrages has worn down U.S. stocks of air-defense missiles to an extent that has privately alarmed top officials in the Trump administration and has led to the United States’ delaying deliveries to European and Asian customers.
The Iran campaign has forced the Pentagon to rush ships, aircraft and air-defense units from across Europe and Asia to the Middle East, an effort with cascading consequences for equipment maintenance and troop morale, U.S. officials said. The result is a significant erosion of American firepower in those regions, a shift with long-term implications that are a growing concern in the military and intelligence communities, senior U.S. and Western officials said.
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said the United States has “more than enough firepower to carry out any operation the president orders at any time and place.” But experts say the munitions crisis — part of which Mr. Trump inherited from President Joseph R. Biden Jr. — is almost certain to outlast his presidency.
Tom Karako, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington,...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Dear FRiends,
We need your continuing support to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies, no advertisers, no paid memberships, no commercial sales, no gimmicks, no tax subsidies. No spam, no pop-ups, no ad trackers.
If you enjoy using FR and agree it's a worthwhile endeavor, please consider making a contribution today:
Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you,
Jim
The good news is this provides the incentive to increase the necessary production.
China is burning thru cash to get DSA elected. GOP is not taking note.
The military-industrial complex is pleased.
All authors cited plagiarized this from satan.
In before the fake news claims.
Right… we fought wars on two fronts for nearly 20 years and now the fish wraps are concerned about munition stockpiles. Anything to under-mind trump and hurt the country. Dem polling must be pretty bad…
Many of those weapons are obsolete by today’s standards. It’s at least one way to use the inventory without the cost of decommissioning (ht marktwain on that latter point).
Nice Job Trump in using the NYT to prepare the Iranians to be destroyed. When Trump is bellowing about total destruction, then nothing will happen. When he is quiet, look out.
Omygosh! Wherever will we get more weapons!?
NYT: US is running out of weapons
NYT: Russia and Iran have infinite weapons and are not running out of them.
Missiles especially have a best-by. The solid fuel degrades over time. You either fire them before that date or you send them back to the factory to be rebuilt or disposed of. Each year the Pentagon decides how many missiles of what type it wants in inventory. If it overbuilds, it loses money and can’t buy the same amount the next year. It’s a delicate balance. Fortunately, the war in Ukraine has forced the government to invest in infrastructure to rapidly replace what we need. We’re in better shape now than at any time since the “peace dividend.”
Have we run down the inventory? Well, certain types used by some units deployed near Iran. And, actually, this is a good thing. Because it has forced that ramp-up in infrastructure to occur even faster. Of all the nothingburgers in the media, this is the biggest one.
We are doomed, some analysts say !
“It’s at least one way to use the inventory without the cost of decommissioning”
They bury them in my backyard(or close) and put up signs that says don’t dig here.
This is the story that Trump called false and “Treasonous”, and pledged to find the culprits and have them jailed.
.
Ukraine war 4 1/2 years of depleting
Iran bombings 5 1/2 months of depleting
The bad news, we relied on very expensive weapon systems. Others are using much lower cost and Huge numbers of weapons sent to attack. Understand may not be as affective but will burn up an enemy’s defenses quickly. Laser shoot down technology will be the game changer.
Exactly. This is a media agenda going into the midterms.
Of course this is TDS deception for those who don't grasp the facts you have stated.
Unfortunately that is about 98% of the population. They know more about changing their vape filters than they do about this.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.