The US military is experiencing a "beyond critical" shortage of advanced missile interceptors in Europe largely driven by President Trump's war with Iran, a US defense official in Europe and a NATO official told the AP, raising concerns about vulnerabilities in NATO countries to a potential Russian attack.
- The US defense official said the most concerning shortfall involves Patriot missile interceptors, which can shoot down Russia's high-speed ballistic missiles. The NATO official confirmed the low inventories of Patriots among American and NATO forces in Europe. Both spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters.
- The shortage illustrates the cascading fallout from Trump's decision to launch a war against Iran, a conflict that reaches the six-month mark on Friday. US missile stocks in Europe have been moved to the Middle East, where US and Gulf allies have fired off significant numbers of interceptors, including Patriots, to thwart Iran's drones and missiles. Some of those attacks have killed and wounded American troops.
In the event of a Russian ballistic missile assault on, for example, a military headquarters or power plant, NATO could be in a similar position to Patriot-starved Ukraine and be forced "to take punch after punch in the mouth," the US defense official said. In Europe, the American military "definitely" does not have enough Patriots to stop any possible sustained ballistic missile attack and would have "very limited" capability to defend against a single ballistic missile strike or a stray Russian missile that goes off course, the US official said.
- The US military in Europe also is grappling with critical shortages of the Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, a medium-range ballistic missile designed to strike behind enemy lines, the two officials said. But the overall munitions picture in Europe is less dire than on air defenses alone because some European militaries have their own offensive missiles, such as the Taurus and Storm Shadow, which are both long-range air-launched bunker-busting missiles.
- Ukraine has received Patriots from American and European stockpiles since Russia's 2022 invasion, with the US providing about 600 of the interceptors during the Biden administration, says Mark Cancian, a retired Marine colonel who is now senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank. But the greatest expenditure has been during the Iran conflict, which has used up 65% of US Patriots, amounting to roughly 1,500 of the nation's 2,330 interceptors, CSIS says. About 600 missiles, including those destined for Europe, should be made this year, with a production goal of 2,000 Patriot missiles a year set for 2030, Cancian says.
- European and NATO officials say Russia could be in a position to attack countries in the alliance by 2030. Patriot stockpiles are projected to rebound by then. In the meantime, Russia's war in Ukraine could hinder its ability to carry out any missile attack on Europe as it would be a challenge for Moscow to fight an air war on two fronts.
- Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement Thursday that claims of US munition shortages "are false." "We have everything required to strike at the time and place of the President's choosing," Parnell said. "Across multiple combatant commands, we have already executed successful operations while maintaining a deep, ready arsenal to defend our people and our interests."
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