President Donald Trump paused the war with Iran for negotiations, but the $37.5 billion conflict has depleted weapons stockpiles that will take years to replenish. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing BBC News.
At the Pennsylvania Defense and Innovation Summit, Trump urged defense CEOs to build more weapons faster. "We have the best quality in the world, but we need a little more speed," he said. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth called for extra funding to bolster the "arsenal of freedom."
During Operation Epic Fury, the US struck over 13,000 targets and intercepted 1,700 Iranian drones and ballistic missiles. The war cost $37.5 billion. The New York Times reported that Trump was advised to shelve escalation plans as it would further drain stockpiles.
Trump denied a shortfall, saying "we have far more munitions than anyone in the world." However, Hegseth told the Senate that the Pentagon needs an additional $87 billion to address "critical shortfalls."
According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), over 1,000 Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired, with stockpiles not returning to pre-war levels until 2031. Each missile costs about $2.6 million.
The Patriot air defense system was heavily used: 1,430 out of 2,330 interceptors were expended. Each Patriot interceptor costs approximately $4 million. Of the 360 THAAD missiles, between 190 and 290 were fired. Replenishing these systems will take 3-5 years.
The war with Iran occurred just before the "Davidson window," when China may be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027. Whether the US will defend Taiwan remains debated.