US burned through ‘years’ of munitions with war on Iran: Report

The administration of US President Donald Trump has burned through “years” of critical munitions since the start of its aggression on Iran, a report says, noting that the country will needs years to replenish its stockpiles.

The Financial Times reported that the rapid depletion of weaponry includes advanced long-range Tomahawk missiles.

It is a “massive expenditure of Tomahawks”, it cited one person familiar with the US military’s use of munitions as saying, noting that “The navy will be feeling this expenditure for several years.”

The Center for International and Strategic Studies estimated the US used 168 Tomahawks in the first 100 hours of the war of terrorism that began on February 28, with the assassination of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

“It’s a lot. And it will take years to replace,” said one US lawmaker of the Tomahawks, as well as US reserves of THAAD interceptors and Patriot missiles, critical air defenses against the barrage of missiles and drones that Iran has unleashed on US bases and interests.

On Thursday, Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate financial services committee, noted that the US is spending “many billions” on a war that is proving deeply unpopular with Americans.

The cost “goes up practically as we talk”, he said, adding “It’s an astronomical sum.”

Tomahawks, subsonic cruise missiles with a 1,000-pound warhead, are manufactured by US weapons maker RTX at a cost of $3.6 million each.

In the past five years, the US military has purchased only 322 of the missiles, including the 57 the navy has earmarked for fiscal year 2026 which represents a fraction of what it has probably used in recent days.

The rising cost of the unprovoked aggression will pile pressure on Trump as the war has led to the closure the Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime trade corridor, and sent oil prices above $100 a barrel, ahead of the November US midterm election.

The war is also increasingly unpopular with American voters who face increasing petrol prices and are questioning whether Trump has signed the country up for another prolonged conflict in West Asia.

In the coming days, the Pentagon is expected to submit a formal request to the White House and Congress for as much as $50 billion in additional spending for the military, paving the way for what is likely to be a fierce funding battle on Capitol Hill.

Lisa Murkowski, a Republican on the Senate appropriations committee charged with approving the federal budget, has warned lawmakers will chafe at any expectation from the White House of a blank cheque.

She stressed that the Pentagon must “engage” Congress. “You’ve got to be able to provide us with information, as requested, justification,” she said on Thursday. “Don’t just take for granted that the Congress’s role is basically just to write the cheque.”

Any supplemental bill to fund the aggression against Iran could face a battle in the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Democratic lawmakers, who have slammed the aggression on Iran as illegal because Trump did not seek congressional approval, are also likely to balk at allocating more money for the Pentagon.

Pentagon officials earlier this week told senators that the war had cost more than $11 billion in the first six days of strikes. The costs were overwhelmingly for munitions.

US officials have expressed growing concerns in recent years that the use of critical munitions could outpace their production, particularly if the US is drawn into conflicts with adversaries such as Russia or China.

This could leave US stockpiles dangerously depleted and the US military less ready to confront future wars.

Members of the US Congress have already expressed concern that a full-scale war will deplete US military stocks at a time when the arms manufacturing industry is already struggling to keep up with demand.

Last week, Trump met with executives from seven arms contractors as the Pentagon worked desperately to replenish supplies.

As significant uncertainty surrounds the US war against Iran, lawmakers are pressuring administration officials to give public testimony under oath about Trump’s plans for the war – if he has any - including how long it might last.

This is while senior Iranian officials have already stressed that it is Tehran, and not Washington, that determines the end of the war.

According to US military figures, 11 American troops have been killed in the war, and over 150 others wounded, but Iranian officials have put the US death toll in three digits.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced Friday that four out of six crew members on a US Air Force refueling aircraft, which crashed in the western Iraq, were killed.

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