How the war in West Asia wiped out half of America’s key missiles

“At current production rates, reconstituting what we have expended could take years,” Democrat Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, said.

Adding to the cost are also losses of aerial assets. The US has lost around a dozen drones and aircraft, including three F-15 fighter jets in friendly fire by Kuwaiti air defences. In late March, an Iranian missile barrage on a Saudi airbase damaged an E-3 Sentry AWACS. According to a Wall Street Journal report, the US Air Force has only 16 of these aircraft left in its fleet. Each unit costs about $270 million.

The US military had to destroy two MC-130 cargo planes and at least three MH-6 helicopters during a recent operation to rescue an Air Force officer from Iran to prevent the technology from falling into enemy hands. The decision has costed a $275 million, according to a Marine officer-turned-senior adviser at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

How is the US tackling the issue?

While the CENTCOM burns through its munitions, the Pentagon says that it is waiting for Congressional approval for additional funding before it can pay weapons manufacturers to replenish the depleted American supply.

In January, the Department of Defence announced that it secured seven-year agreements with key defence contractors, including Lockheed Martin and RTX, to quadruple production of precision-guided munitions and THAAD missile interceptors. However, the production has not expanded yet owing to roadblocks in the funding approvals.

Iran’s heavy usage of its economical Shahed kamikaze drones has worn down the US’s expensive air defence systems. US interceptors costing millions of dollars are being used to take down these drones, which cost $30,000 dollars each. An identical strategy is being utilised by Russia on the Ukrainian front.

To balance the financial arithmetic in West Asia, the US has reverse-engineered the Shahed drone and developed the Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS), which costs $35,000 a piece.

The path ahead: Difficulties in posturing

As demand outpaces output, the US has been diverting vast amounts of military resources from other key theatres. The war has led to the depletion of weapons systems from Eastern Europe, amid fears of Russian aggression.

The USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier was moved from the South China Sea to the region before the war began. The New York Times reported in March that the US also moved its Patriot missiles and THAAD system from South Korea, one of the only East Asian allies hosting the advanced missile defence system, deployed by the Pentagon to counter North Korea’s missile threat.

Notably, the US National Defence Strategy, published this January, downplayed Russia’s relevance in the world order, while reaffirming Beijing as a competent rival. With resources stretched, Washington faces difficulties in positioning itself in what it regards as a priority theatre.

China has steadily risen over the past few decades, building a naval fleet that now outnumbers the US in vessel count. Beijing has been displaying aggressive manoeuvres while sharpening its rhetoric on reunification with Taiwan.