18:41 14-04-2026

US Missile Stocks Drain Rapidly in Iran Conflict

SPC Willis G. Pelton, USA, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Analysis reveals the US has used up to 45% of ground-based missiles in the Iran conflict, with air defense stocks dropping over 85%, forcing urgent redeployments.

Military analysts from the Payne Institute have assessed how quickly the United States is depleting its stock of precision-guided missiles during combat operations against Iran. According to their findings, by March 2026 the intensity of strikes had reached a level where roughly 45% of all ground-based missiles had been expended since the conflict began on February 28.

Notably, the U.S. military has been using munitions produced just weeks before the campaign-manufactured in January and February-effectively sending them straight from factories to the battlefield.

Experts say the pace of consumption has significantly exceeded Pentagon expectations set before the operation. In their view, the situation underscores a broader reality: modern high-tech warfare demands far greater volumes of precision weaponry than traditional conflicts that relied primarily on artillery and simpler systems.

Against this backdrop, the decisive factor is no longer just the efficiency of strikes under limited missile reserves, but the defense industry’s ability to rapidly replenish dwindling stockpiles.

At the same time, U.S. forces in the Middle East have been burning through surface-to-air guided missiles even faster than ground-based strike weapons. During the operation, their reserves dropped by more than 85% of planned levels, forcing Washington to urgently redeploy air defense systems and associated munitions from bases in East Asia.