The military has what it needs for any future conflict, the Pentagon said.
The Iran war and continued aid to Ukraine have depleted U.S. weapons inventories that could take three or more years to replenish, according to an analysis released May 27 by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
The stockpile drawdown has raised concerns about whether the United States could defend itself in a conflict against China in the near future, if one arose, the CSIS report stated.
Some of the weapons most used in the conflict that now need to be replaced are the Tomahawk cruise missiles, used for long-range precision strikes, and the Patriot and THAAD interceptors that defend against missiles and drones.
The Pentagon rejected concerns raised in the report, saying it has what it needs for any conflict that might arise, according to Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell.
“America’s military is the most powerful in the world and has everything it needs to execute at the time and place of the President’s choosing,” Parnell told The Epoch Times in an email. ”We have executed multiple successful operations across combatant commands while ensuring the U.S. military possesses a deep arsenal of capabilities to protect our people and our interests.”
President Donald Trump has also boosted defense spending in the $1.5 trillion fiscal year 2027 defense budget to pay for more munitions and replace what was used in Operation Epic Fury. The funding is also expected to build inventories above prewar levels.
The Trump administration also signed framework agreements with the arms industry to expand munitions production capacity, which could speed up future deliveries, CSIS said.
“The United States has enough munitions for any plausible scenario in the Iran war, but the depleted inventories have created a window of vulnerability for a potential Western Pacific conflict,” CSIS senior adviser Mark Cancian and research associate Chris Park wrote in the analysis. “The time needed to rebuild those inventories has thus become a major concern.”
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said May 1 in testimony before Congress that it would take “months and years” depending on the weapon system to replenish the inventories.
The analysis by CSIS supported Hegseth’s assessment.
According to the report, the United States could replace more than 1,000 Tomahawk cruise missiles by late 2030 or early 2031. THAAD systems could be replaced by late 2029.
About 1,400 Patriot interceptors have been used, which could be replaced by mid-2029, according to the report.
Providing weapons and munitions to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia has added to the stockpile depletion, according to CSIS.
