August 5, 2026
Artak Zakaryan, member of the General Assembly of the RPA, former MP, writes:
“During the five-month war with Iran, the US military has significantly depleted its stockpile of long-range precision-guided missiles. Sources familiar with the situation told Reuters about it. It raised concerns about the readiness of the US military to respond to future conflicts.
First of all, we are talking about “surface-to-surface” tactical missiles – Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) and Precision Strike Missile (PrSM). According to Reuters sources, the US has used “almost the entire” available stock of these weapons. This long-range ammunition is considered one of the most important components of the American arsenal, as it enables high-precision strikes from a safe distance.
It should be noted that the ATACMS missiles provided to Ukraine by the USA played an important role in the war, allowing the Ukrainian forces to hit targets on the territory of Russia. And PrSM is a new generation missile with greater range and modern capabilities, which should gradually replace ATACMS.
Analysts estimate that these missiles, worth more than a million dollars, will be important in the event of a possible large-scale conflict. However, they expressed concern that as the war drags on, dwindling missile stocks could limit the US’s ability to deter potential adversaries.
In response to a Reuters inquiry, the White House issued a statement from President Donald Trump, saying, “The United States has far more ammunition than any other country in the world. And much more than we need.”
Lockheed Martin, maker of the ATACMS, PrSM and THAAD anti-missile systems, did not respond to a Reuters inquiry about stockpiling of ammunition. The Raytheon company, which produces Tomahawk cruise missiles and the Patriot anti-missile system, did not react in the same way.
At the same time, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told Reuters that the US military is the most powerful in the world and has everything needed to carry out tasks at any time and any place at the president’s decision.
According to the agency, during the last week, the data on the existing stockpiles of ammunition was actively discussed in the US federal government. There have been active discussions in President Trump’s administration about how long Washington will be able to continue striking Iran without replenishing its stockpile of ammunition.
According to two Reuters sources, the military leadership has repeatedly warned in recent weeks about the dwindling stockpile of defensive weapons, including the Patriot missile system, which is used mainly to destroy ballistic missiles.
Last week, a number of media reported that Donald Trump refused a new large-scale military operation against Iran also because military advisers warned him about the depletion of ammunition stocks. However, the US ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, categorically denied these reports, stating that the United States has enough weapons to continue operations against Iran.
A few days ago, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) published a report, according to which in 2026 in the period between February and July, the USA used up about 65% of the stock of Patriot system missiles. In addition, compared to the start of the war, the number of THAAD anti-missiles has decreased by about 38%.
Reuters has not been able to access the official data, however, the agency notes that two of its sources have confirmed the above estimates of CSIS.
In addition, according to one of the sources, since the beginning of the war, the United States has used almost half of the world stockpile of Tomahawk cruise missiles.
It should be noted that the Tomahawk is the main long-range strike weapon of the US Navy. These missiles are launched from destroyers, cruisers, submarines and for many years have been able to hit well-protected targets without endangering the lives of the pilots.
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