- US fired over 850 Tomahawk missiles in four weeks against Iran, raising supply concerns
- Tomahawks cost $3.6 million each and take up to two years to manufacture
- Pentagon officials worry missile stocks in the Middle East are "alarmingly low"
The US army has fired over 850 Tomahawk missiles in four weeks during its war with Iran. Only a few hundred Tomahawk missiles are manufactured every year, and the rate of firing has alarmed some Pentagon officials who are in talks about how to make more of the missiles available, The Washington Post reported.
It can take up to 2 years to build a Tomahawk, costing $3.6 million a piece, according to the report. Moreover, last year's budget had included only 57 of them.
An official said that the number of Tomahawk missiles in the Middle East is "alarmingly low", another said that if there is no intervention, the country could run out of the missiles in the region soon.
US officials told The Post that discussions are taking place about whether to bring the missiles from other parts of the world or to build more.
Trump Administration Dismisses Concerns About Ammunition
However, Sean Parnell, a Pentagon spokesman, said that the US military "has everything it needs to execute any mission at the time and place of the President's choosing and on any timeline."
Parnell added that the media is trying to portray the "world's strongest military" as "weak".
US Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also dismissed the concerns and said that the US military "has more than enough munitions, ammo and weapons stockpiles to achieve the goals of Operation Epic Fury laid out by President Trump and beyond".
The Pentagon chief also told reporters on March 5 that the US has no shortage of munitions and that the US could sustain the campaign "as long as we need to". However, he has personally urged defence firms to speed the delivery of important weapons, according to the report.
"Several Years To Replenish"
Mark Cancian, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that the use of more than 800 Tomahawk missiles leaves a "large gap for a conflict in the Western Pacific". His think tank assessed that there could have been around 3,100 at the Navy's disposal at the start of the war.
He added that it "would take several years to replenish" the missiles.
The missiles were first used by the US in 1991 during the Persian Gulf War and have been a staple for their military since.
The missiles can travel more than 1,000 miles and can be launched from Navy surface warships and submarines, which reduces dependency on pilots to go into airspaces that are well-defended.
