Washington, Aug 9 (IANS) The US is running considerably low on critical missile interceptors and other munitions after months of war with Iran, according to a former US Defence Secretary, as concerns grow over America’s ability to replenish weapons stocks quickly and maintain military readiness against other potential threats.
Mark Esper, who served as Defence Secretary during President Donald Trump’s first term, said shortages of Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) interceptors were serious and warned that rebuilding stocks would take time.
“It is a serious situation that goes back to the end of the Cold War and decisions we made between them and then with the onset of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars,” Esper told ABC News on Sunday.
“And frankly, it accelerated during the Biden administration when we were expending munitions or giving munitions to Ukraine. And it’s, of course, in the last six, seven months, it’s really taken a toll that we’ve now find ourselves considerably low with regard to interceptors such as Patriot and THAAD, and to some ground attack weapons as well.”
Esper said his biggest concern was China and the message that depleted American stockpiles could send about US deterrence.
“When I look at the world, I’m most concerned about China and the messages it may be sending there and the deterrent effect of our munition stockpiles, and more importantly of our defence industrial base,” he added.
The Pentagon is seeking an additional $67 billion in defence funding, in part to replenish depleted stockpiles, according to NBC News.
Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut said he would oppose additional funding while the Iran war continued, but would support replenishing US arsenals once the conflict ended.
“We have used up almost all of our interceptors, the majority of our Tomahawks. We have put the United States in a dangerous position,” Murphy added.
“We have allowed Russia and China to imagine things that they couldn’t have imagined early because of our inability to defend ourselves and our allies.”
Republican Senator Jim Banks of Indiana, meanwhile, defended Trump’s handling of the Iran war and said the President’s legacy would be tied to preventing Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
“His legacy is going to be largely wrapped up in ensuring that Iran never has a nuclear weapon,” Banks told NBC News.
He said the US military had wiped out 85 per cent of Iran’s ballistic missiles and damaged its defence industrial base. He also credited Trump’s naval blockade with crippling Iran’s economy.
Esper said the administration was pressing defence companies to accelerate weapons production. But he cautioned that there was no quick solution.
“When you’re talking about taking two years to build a Patriot missile, whatever we do now is not going to help in the short term, but nonetheless needs to be done for strategic reasons,” he added.
Patriot and THAAD are among the United States’ principal missile-defence systems. Patriot batteries can intercept aircraft, cruise missiles and some ballistic missiles, while THAAD is designed to intercept ballistic missiles during the final phase of their flight.
–IANS
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