U.S. Long-Range Precision Missile Stockpiles Drained by Iran War Raise Readiness Concerns.

Five months of U.S. strikes have consumed a significant share of the military’s long-range missile inventory, exposing targets deep inside Iran while limiting aircraft exposure to Iranian air defenses. The sustained expenditure is now forcing Pentagon planners to balance operations in the Middle East against missile requirements for a potential conflict in the Indo-Pacific.

U.S. forces have relied on long-range precision weapons, including missile families such as PrSM and ATACMS where operationally available, to attack Iranian command sites, missile infrastructure and protected military facilities from outside the densest air-defense zones. After five months of sustained operations, the campaign has evolved into a broader test of U.S. magazine depth, production capacity and global readiness, with Pentagon planners increasingly concerned about replacing weapons faster than they are being expended.

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The Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) is the U.S. Army's next-generation long-range precision strike missile. Compatible with HIMARS and M270 launchers, it is designed to replace ATACMS while extending range, increasing launcher payload, and supporting joint multi-domain operations.(Picture source: US DoD)

U.S. Central Command has reportedly received missiles transferred from stockpiles held in other regions to sustain ongoing operations. While this redistribution allows Washington to maintain military pressure on Iran, it also reduces the margin available to respond to a simultaneous crisis in Europe or the Indo-Pacific. The issue therefore extends beyond the Middle East and directly affects the United States' ability to support multiple high-intensity contingencies at the same time.

According to an exclusive Reuters report published on August 4, 2026, citing several U.S. officials with access to internal Pentagon data, the United States has expended virtually all of its available Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) and Precision Strike Missiles (PrSM), while also using nearly half of its global inventory of Tomahawk cruise missiles. Reuters further reports that internal U.S. figures are consistent with an analysis published several days earlier by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), which estimates that approximately 65 percent of Patriot interceptors and at least 38 percent of THAAD interceptors have been expended since the conflict began. These assessments are now influencing discussions within the U.S. administration regarding the country's ability to sustain operations while preserving a credible posture in other theaters.

ATACMS remains the U.S. Army's primary tactical ballistic missile currently in service. Fired from the M142 HIMARS and M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS), it reaches approximately 300 km depending on the variant and carries a 227 kg unitary warhead guided by an inertial navigation system supported by GPS. Its successor, the Precision Strike Missile, is compatible with the same launch platforms but carries two missiles per launch pod instead of one. In its Increment 1 configuration, PrSM officially exceeds a range of 400 km, with further increases expected through the Increment 2 and Increment 4 variants currently under development. The missile incorporates an open systems architecture designed to facilitate future upgrades, an inertial navigation system with GPS guidance, and trajectory planning capabilities that allow attacks from multiple approach angles, complicating enemy interception efforts.

The extensive use of these missiles reflects the nature of the campaign conducted against Iran. During the initial phases of the conflict, U.S. operations focused on integrated air defense systems, ballistic missile batteries, command centers, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps infrastructure, and deeply buried ammunition storage sites. Several CSIS assessments indicate that this strategy relies on long-range precision strikes to reduce the exposure of U.S. aircraft to Iranian surface-to-air missile networks while maintaining a sustained tempo against critical military targets. Within this operational framework, HIMARS and M270 launchers can fire from dispersed locations, rapidly relocate after launch, and continue engaging fixed or semi-mobile objectives. The PrSM further increases fire density by doubling the number of missiles available per launcher pod while supporting the Army's transition toward a longer-range land strike capability designed for contested environments.

An M270A2 MLRS conducts a live-fire exercise during Saber Guardian 25 in Romania on June 15, 2025. The upgraded launcher is compatible with the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM). (Picture source: US DoD)

The campaign has also placed heavy demands on defensive missile systems. Patriot PAC-3 MSE and THAAD batteries play a central role in protecting U.S. bases, critical infrastructure, and deployed forces against Iranian ballistic missile attacks. Patriot provides terminal defense within the lower engagement layer, while THAAD intercepts ballistic missiles at higher altitudes and longer ranges, forming a layered missile defense architecture. The scale of Iranian missile attacks, combined with the practice of firing multiple interceptors to maximize the probability of a successful engagement, has contributed to the rapid depletion of interceptor inventories.

This operational intensity largely explains the current state of U.S. stockpiles. Planning documents published in recent years by the U.S. Army and the Department of Defense have consistently concluded that high-intensity conflicts require substantially larger missile inventories than those maintained following the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. ATACMS, PrSM, Tomahawk, Patriot, and THAAD were specifically intended for the opening phases of conflicts against adversaries equipped with advanced air defense networks. Their rapid consumption had therefore been anticipated in major war scenarios, but the campaign against Iran represents the first prolonged demonstration of those projected requirements under sustained combat conditions.

Washington is now seeking to rebuild its inventories before another major contingency emerges. Lockheed Martin is gradually increasing PrSM production as the missile replaces ATACMS, while also expanding manufacturing capacity for PAC-3 MSE and THAAD interceptors. RTX is negotiating a multi-year agreement with the Pentagon aimed at accelerating Tomahawk production. Recent U.S. defense budgets also allocate several billion dollars to expanding the missile industrial base, particularly in solid rocket motors, energetic materials, seekers, and electronic components, all of which have been identified as key production bottlenecks.

These developments come at a time when tensions with Iran remain unresolved and the possibility of renewed military operations cannot be ruled out. The United States must therefore continue rebuilding its missile inventories while retaining sufficient reserves to respond to any further escalation in the Middle East. At the same time, U.S. strategy in the Indo-Pacific also depends heavily on long-range precision missiles to counter an adversary possessing extensive anti-access and area denial capabilities. The experience of the Iran campaign demonstrates that the credibility of U.S. deterrence increasingly depends not only on the performance of advanced missile systems, but also on the industrial capacity required to replenish them during a prolonged conflict.

Written By Erwan Halna du Fretay - Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Erwan Halna du Fretay holds a Master’s degree in International Relations and has experience studying conflicts and global arms transfers. His research interests lie in Security and strategic studies, particularly the dynamics of the defense industry, the evolution of military technologies, and the strategic transformation of armed forces.