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The United States (US) has confirmed that its facing ammunition shortfalls after months of war against Iran, according to the Defence Department’s inspector general.
According to AFP, in a mandatory report to Congress on Monday, the Inspector General said Operation Epic Fury cost an estimated $33.4 billion between February 28 and June 30.
Of that amount, $22.3 billion was spent on munitions that were used during the operation.
“The munitions expenditure on OEF has resulted in strategic inventory shortfalls and revealed industrial base bottlenecks for munitions resupply,” the report said.
Operation Epic Fury is the US name for its joint military campaign with Israel to “destroy Iran’s ability to project military power,” according to US Central Command.
The Pentagon is working to address the shortages by speeding up procurement, reducing production delays and stockpiling critical materials and selected munitions.
However, the report warned that expanding production capacity would require “significant lead time”.
The shortages could raise concerns in countries such as Ukraine and Taiwan, which depend on US weapons to fight or deter larger regional rivals.
Ukraine urgently needs interceptor missiles for US-made Patriot air defence systems in its war against Russia, while Taiwan relies on US arms agreements to deter China.
The report contrasts with President Donald Trump’s repeated claims that US weapons stocks remain strong.
Trump recently said the United States had “virtually unlimited” ammunition.
On Monday, he also wrote on Truth Social that the US was producing “more Exquisite and Elite Weapons than at any time in our History.”
CNN had previously reported shortages of long-range guided missiles and air-defence interceptors were affecting US strategy in the Iran conflict.
The report said the US military had nearly exhausted 80 percent of its stock of THAAD interceptors.
CENTCOM said the United States struck more than 1,000 targets during the first 24 hours of the war but has not carried out attacks on the same scale in recent months.
The inspector general’s report also detailed losses to US military equipment during the conflict.
It said four F-15 fighter jets were destroyed, one F-35 fighter was damaged, seven KC-135 tanker aircraft were damaged, and up to 30 MQ-9 Reaper drones were destroyed.
According to the report, Iran also targeted the US Navy’s main logistics hub in Bahrain with drone and ballistic missile strikes.
Hundreds of buildings and structures at US bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman and Jordan were damaged or destroyed by Iranian strikes.
The report did not include the cost of rebuilding the facilities because it remains unclear whether all the bases will be rebuilt or who will pay.
By June 30, seven US service members had been killed in action and seven others in non-hostile incidents during Operation Epic Fury.
Another 417 US service members had been wounded in action, the report said.
The United States and Israel launched the war against Iran on February 28.
Western powers have for decades accused Iran of seeking nuclear weapons, but Tehran has consistently denied the allegation.
