The United States will need years to rebuild the stockpiles depleted during its military campaign against Iran, a strain that is already raising concerns about the country’s readiness for future conflicts. This assessment comes from experts cited by The Economist.

According to the report, replenishing the munitions used in just the first four days of fighting could cost between $20 billion and $26 billion. However, analysts emphasize that the core issue is no longer funding, but the limited capacity to produce replacements quickly enough.

The scale of expenditure has been striking. In the opening phase of Operation «Epic Fury», U.S. forces launched around 300 Tomahawk cruise missiles-far exceeding the Pentagon’s planned procurement of just 57 for the entire fiscal year. A similar imbalance is evident with THAAD interceptors: more than 150 were used, accounting for roughly a quarter of available reserves. Deliveries of new missiles are not expected until 2027, and stockpiles have seen little replenishment since 2023.

Overall, U.S. forces deployed more than 5,000 munitions in the first four days of operations against Iran, rising to approximately 11,000 over 16 days. Experts describe the campaign as the most intensive air operation on record.

The Pentagon is now exploring ways to accelerate procurement through large-scale, long-term contracts. Plans include increasing annual production of Tomahawk missiles from 60 to 1,000 and boosting output of PAC-3 MSE interceptors for Patriot systems from 600 to 2,000. However, Congress has yet to approve the necessary funding.

Production constraints present another obstacle. A limited number of manufacturers supply key weapon components, slowing output. In addition, several critical minerals required for defense production remain under China’s control.

Against this backdrop-and with significant U.S. forces and equipment redeployed from Japan and South Korea to the Middle East-analysts warn that Washington’s military posture in Asia could be weakened.

The current escalation began on February 28, when the United States and Israel launched strikes on targets in Iran. Tehran has since responded with attacks on Israeli positions and U.S. military bases across the Middle East.