The U.S. military is running low on bullets, and the government’s own watchdog says the problem comes from the war with Iran. In a new report to Congress, the Defense Department’s inspector general says the United States has spent $33.4 billion on Operation Epic Fury since February, with $22.3 billion of that going to spent ammunition.
The report covers the period from February 28 to June 30. It describes a shortfall that reaches across the armed forces. “The munitions expenditure on OEF has resulted in strategic inventory shortfalls and revealed industrial base bottlenecks for munitions resupply,” it states. That means the military has fired through more stock than it can replace fast enough, and the factories that make new rounds cannot keep pace.
Cost of the War
The $33.4 billion figure includes everything from airstrikes to the cost of maintaining bases across the region. The report notes that Iranian strikes damaged or destroyed hundreds of buildings and structures at US bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, and Jordan. Those costs are not included in the total, because it is not yet clear who will pay for rebuilding or whether all bases will be brought back.
The report also lists the damage done to American assets. The tally includes:
- Four F-15 fighter jets destroyed
- One F-35 damaged
- Seven KC-135 tanker aircraft damaged
- Up to 30 MQ-9 Reaper drones destroyed
First Day of War
US Central Command (CENTCOM) has said that during the first 24 hours of war against Iran, the United States struck more than 1,000 targets. The war has not returned to that scale in recent months.
What the President Said
President Trump has brushed off concerns about depleted weapons stores throughout the six months of war in the Middle East. He said the US has “virtually unlimited” ammo just a couple weeks ago. On Monday, he posted to his Truth Social platform that the U.S. is producing “more Exquisite and Elite Weapons than at any time in our History.”
Production Problem
CBS Sunday Morning was recently granted access to Lockheed Martin’s production facility in Arkansas to see the making of the latest model of the Patriot air defense missile. Each one costs around $4 million, and Lockheed Martin is currently producing 750 of them a year.
Asked if the U.S. has enough weapons to see the war through, Mark Cancian of the Center for Strategic and International Studies answered directly. “For a war against Iran, the answer is yes. The problem is a war against China. We might be able to provide enough munitions for a month, but getting on to month two or month three or four, that’s a great challenge.”
Pentagon’s Response
The Pentagon has denied claims of U.S. munition shortages. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has urged the defense industry to increase weapon manufacturing, which Lockheed Martin’s Tim Cahill, the head of the company’s missile division, describes as “controlled chaos.” “It’s just, move fast, figure it out, find what our obstacles are, break them down,” he said.
The report’s admission of shortages stands apart from official statements. The inspector general’s office is required by law to produce this kind of report, and this one is described as the first of its kind.
What This Means
The report raises a question the administration has not answered: how long can the U.S. sustain a war against Iran? The munitions being fired now are coming from existing stockpiles, and the factories building replacements cannot keep pace beyond a few months, according to Cancian.
The war with Iran has moved quickly, and the damage to American equipment has been substantial. The loss of four F-15s, a damaged F-35, seven damaged KC-135 tankers, and 30 destroyed Reapers shows the toll on the fleet.
The inspector general’s report is a direct assessment of a situation that has gone unacknowledged at the highest levels of government. The report’s honesty stands in contrast to the administration’s public posture. The Pentagon has denied shortages, and Trump has insisted the U.S. is producing more weapons than ever. The evidence now exists in writing.
See the video the story is built around at Cbsnews.
Get the Notebook.
The day's best stories and every fresh verdict, in plain English, in your inbox by seven. One email a day, no more.