Overview
- U.S. inventories of THAAD interceptors and Patriot/PAC-3 missiles have been heavily drawn down by shipments to Ukraine and heavy use during recent Middle East hostilities, leaving stocks at critically low levels.
- Reported estimates from U.S. officials indicate the shortfall is likely to persist through at least 2030 and will take multiple years to reverse even if no further munitions are used.
- The U.S. expended a large share of pre-conflict stockpiles, with reporting citing up to about 61% of PAC-3 missiles and roughly 82% of THAAD interceptors used during recent operations.
- Industry and procurement limits slow recovery because new production contracts take about 3.5 to 4.5 years to fulfill and current output cannot quickly replace the expended interceptors.
- Lockheed Martin has reportedly proposed raising THAAD output from about 96 to 400 interceptors a year, but officials say that even with this plan scaling will take years and will not immediately restore stockpiles.