US Tomahawk Missile Stockpile Draining in Iran War

According to a report by The Washington Post that cited sources, the US military has fired over 850 Tomahawk cruise missiles in just four weeks of its war against Iran, depleting the precision weapons at a rate that has alarmed Pentagon officials and sparked internal discussions about how to make more available.

According to the report, the significant expenditure, which is a component of the so-called “Operation Epic Fury,” which started on February 28 with the assassination of Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Revolution, as well as some high-ranking commanders and common citizens, has raised concerns about the strain on US weapons stockpiles.

Analysts estimate that the US presently produces between 90 and 100 Tomahawk missiles a year, which raises concerns because the amount shot in the last four weeks surpasses the total production over the previous five to eight years.

Depending on the version, each Tomahawk missile costs between $2 million and $4 million; some estimates put the price per unit as high as $3.5 million.

According to military experts, the 850 missiles fired at that rate might cost up to $3 billion, a small portion of the war’s total cost, which is said to have exceeded $18 billion thus far.

It is anticipated that it will take years to replace the used missiles. Due to complicated parts like solid rocket motors, sophisticated seekers, and terrain-matching sensors that depend on single-source vendors, building a single Tomahawk takes 18 to 24 months.

According to reports quoting military experts, manufacturers are finding it difficult to scale up quickly because of the precarious supply chain and historically low production rates.

The Pentagon recently signed a seven-year framework arrangement with Raytheon, an RTX company, to increase yearly Tomahawk manufacturing to over 1,000 missiles in an attempt to resolve these vulnerabilities.

Only a few weeks prior to the US and Israeli regime’s unprovoked attack on Iran, the deal was announced in early February. Officials admit that it will take years to rebuild inventories depleted at the current rate, even with increased capacity.

The Iranian military has conducted 83 waves of Operation True Promise 4 thus far, delivering devastating blows to the enemy with their cutting-edge missiles and drones.

The New York Times and other US media publications claim that US military sites dispersed throughout the region and Israeli military infrastructure in occupied territories have been damaged and rendered “uninhabitable.”

Significantly, on February 28, the US military attacked an elementary school in Minab, southern Iran, using Tomahawk missiles, killing around 170 students.