Chinese military experts take stock of US munitions weak spot exposed by Iran war

The United States’ depleted stockpile of munitions from its war on Iran and limited production capacity will be a critical vulnerability against stronger adversaries, according to Chinese military observers.

During the 39 days of war before the ceasefire, the US is estimated to have used about half of both its Patriot air defence missiles and the longer-range Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) interceptors.

Stockpiles of Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) and Standard Missile 6 (SM-6) ship-launched interceptors have also dropped significantly, according to a report published by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the US military has expended between 40 and 70 of its 90 Precision Strike Missiles (PrSM), the most advanced munition developed for the Himars multiple rocket launchers.

The think tank report also revealed that more than a quarter of the 3,100 Tomahawk cruise missiles and nearly a quarter of the 4,400 stealth Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles (JASSM) were fired.

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The CSIS warned that the depletion would further constrain US forces should a conflict arise in the near term, given insufficient pre-war inventories. “A war against a capable peer competitor like China will consume munitions at greater rates.”

South China Morning Post