America’s Missile Shield Is Crumbling: Iran-Israel War Burned Through U.S. Defenses, Left China Smiling

US President Donald Trump and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (Photo: Reuters via ANI)

Washington: When Iran launched a barrage of missiles at Israel in June, the United States reacted fast. But that speed came at a steep cost. Nearly a quarter of Washington’s most advanced missile interceptors were used up in just 12 days, CNN reported.

Over 100 or possibly closer to 150 THAAD interceptors were fired by the U.S. military, most of them in Israeli skies. Two out of the seven American THAAD batteries were moved into position and engaged. The report is based on people who had direct access to the operation. These are not cheap rounds or easily replaced. Each interceptor costs around $12.7 million and production lags far behind usage.

“They cannot keep doing this. We are not producing nearly fast enough to replenish what we just fired,” the channel has quoted a missile defense analyst who, it claims, has been tracking expenditures in the region.

The Pentagon is not giving out numbers on the record, but officials, according to the report, say the depletion has been noted. One senior officer confirmed to CNN that nearly 25% of the US THAAD inventory was used up in that short period.

“We have been looking at wartime stock levels for critical munitions. Production needs to rise. It should have happened years ago,” an officer has been quoted as saying.

At the moment, America’s defense industry can only produce around a dozen THAADs per year. That is what it delivered last year and what is expected this year too. And next year? Even if everything goes right, the number barely rises to 37 units, according to the Pentagon’s latest projections.

However, Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson still claims that the U.S. military “is the strongest it has ever been”. “If you need proof, look at Operation Midnight Hammer and the total obliteration of Iran’s nuclear capabilities,” he says to cement his claim.

But that same operation, which reportedly involved strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, may not have fully achieved its aim. An assessment by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) later indicated Iran’s core nuclear facilities were “severely damaged” but not wiped out. Other U.S. intelligence early on suggested only a temporary setback.

Meanwhile, missiles kept falling. Israeli and U.S. interceptors stopped most of them, around 86%, but not all. More than 500 ballistic missiles were fired by Iran. At least 36 struck populated areas. Tel Aviv was hit hard. Apartment blocks crumbled. Power grids went dark. Twenty-nine lives were lost. And the financial damage? Over $1.8 billion, according to Israel’s tax authority, and that is a preliminary figure.

Video footage analysed by CNN and independent experts shows dozens of advanced U.S. interceptors streaking across the sky. In one sample recorded by a Jordanian photographer, 39 of 82 visible interceptors were confirmed as THAAD.

“It is a conservative estimate. But even that shows a heavy drain,” Sam Lair, a weapons analyst who verified the count, told CNN.

The Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA), which reviewed the missile performance, found that THAADs accounted for almost half the interceptions. Israel’s own Arrow interceptors, designed for long-range threats, were not enough. Famous for stopping short-range rockets from Gaza, Iron Dome was not built for missiles coming from Tehran.

“Burned through a lot of inventory. If current production rates hold, it will take three to eight years to restock,” said Ari Cicurel, who wrote JINSA’s report.

Only 8% of Iranian missiles made it through in the first week of the war. By the final day, 25% were breaking past defenses. Experts say Iran adapted its strategy and targeted cities more, using missiles with decoys and multiple warheads with an aim to overload Israeli and US systems.

“There were more sophisticated systems deployed. Some may have individually caused less damage but overwhelmed defenses through sheer numbers,” Mora Deitch, a researcher at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, told CNN.

She further said it was not merely about what Iran did. “Israel’s interception policy might have shifted. A prolonged war changes how you conserve resources,” she said.

Whether by design or out of necessity, both Israel and the United States ran dangerously low on interceptors.

The situation is especially alarming for the United States beyond the Middle East. China looms large in the Indo-Pacific. Many defense officials are now sounding the alarm. “If a conflict breaks out in the Pacific, we are in trouble,” said a former senior Biden administration official who worked on the Yemen-Houthi campaign.

Mara Karlin, who once oversaw strategy at the Pentagon, agrees. “Air defense is needed everywhere right now. But we do not have enough systems. Not enough interceptors. Not enough production. Not enough people working on it,” she said.

Jennifer Kavanagh from Defense Priorities added, “You have got to make choices. The former President Joe Biden administration did not fully reckon with the trade-offs. They had a bit of cushion. But now, Trump’s team does not have that luxury.”

What the United States is facing is not only a budget issue or a political talking point. It is a numbers game. It is inventory versus need. It is rearmament speed versus threat tempo. And after this summer’s war, those numbers do not look good.

Nine THAAD batteries exist in the world. The United States owns seven. Two were shifted to Israel. Two are stationed in the UAE. One sits in Guam. One in South Korea. And five were previously in Texas. A new one is scheduled to go active by 2025.

But that is not the concern now. The concern is how many rounds are left and how long it will take to make more.

Sidharth Kaushal, an expert at the Royal United Services Institute, summed it up this way, “China did not fire a single shot in this conflict, but they came out ahead. Because while the United States was busy in the Middle East, it spent capabilities it cannot quickly replace.”

The THAADs flew. They did their job. But now they are gone. And the silence that follows is what has defense officials most worried.