US war in Iran depleted critical weapons stockpiles for a confrontation with China and Russia - NYT

Since the beginning of the war with Iran in late February, the United States has spent approximately 1,100 of its long-range cruise missiles with Stealth technology. These missiles were designed for a potential war with China. At the same time, the American military has fired more than 1,000 Tomahawk cruise missiles, which is approximately 10 times the number they currently procure annually. This was reported by UNN with reference to The New York Times.

Details

According to internal assessments by the Department of Defense and congressional officials, the Pentagon has used more than 1,200 Patriot interceptor missiles, costing over $4 million each, as well as more than 1,000 Precision Strike and ATACMS ground-launched missiles in the war. This has led to alarmingly low inventory levels.

The war with Iran has significantly depleted a large portion of the U.S. armed forces' global ammunition stockpiles and forced the Pentagon to urgently transfer bombs, missiles, and other equipment to the Middle East from command posts in Asia and Europe. These reductions have left these regional commands less prepared to confront potential adversaries such as Russia and China and have forced the United States to seek ways to ramp up production to address the depletion of stockpiles, according to Trump administration and congressional officials.

The U.S. conflict with Iran has also demonstrated the Pentagon's over-reliance on overly expensive missiles and ammunition, especially air defense interceptors. At the same time, concerns have grown among the American military about whether the U.S. defense industry can develop cheaper weapons, particularly attack drones, much faster.

Recall

Earlier, UNN reported that before the U.S.-Iran war, China replenished its strategic oil reserves by an average of 1.1 million barrels daily. As of December 2025, their volume reached almost 1.4 billion barrels.