According to this, the Navy is supposed to cancel acquisition of new Hellfire’s next year. If we deplete our stockpile now, will we be able to replace them?
We are replacing them with a new type of missile...
But the point is valid. Should we have a lot of the old ones around until we prove the new ones in combat for a while?
Frankly though, this is a military matter. It’s hard to armchair quarterback this. May be no issue at all. Who knows. We never will.
The Navy can choose not to buy them. The Army is the single manager for conventional ammunition. The Army and the Air Force and others want them badly and there are plenty of foreign military sales for these.