According to a report by CBS News—a BBC partner organization in the United States—U.S. Army Chief of Staff General Randy George warned in late December, two months before the outbreak of war with Iran, that the Army was facing a severe shortage of munitions required for missile defense systems. He further cautioned that this situation could persist for another five years.
Officials informed CBS News that General George’s assessment was included in the Pentagon’s “Global Force Management Allocation Plan.”
According to U.S. officials, this is an annual plan—developed with the approval of the Secretary of Defense—that dictates the deployment of military forces and weaponry worldwide.
It should be noted that, according to several U.S. officials familiar with the matter, General George was removed from his position in April by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, while the war with Iran was ongoing. General George had warned that stockpiles of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) batteries and Patriot missiles would remain at critically low levels through 2030.
Officials state that General Randy George’s assessment was prepared for the Department of Defense’s fiscal year 2027 planning. It was drafted prior to the commencement of the U.S.- and Israeli-led war against Iran—a conflict that has now entered its seventh month. US officials, speaking to CBS News on condition of anonymity—as they are not authorized to speak publicly—stated that this situation has arisen due to the provision of Patriot systems to Ukraine following the Russian invasion in 2022, the use of weaponry for Israel’s defense, and the limited production capacity of the defense industry.
Due to security concerns, CBS News has not published the specific percentage figures provided by the US officials, while General George declined to comment on the matter.
US officials note that although the United States maintains large stockpiles of certain offensive weapons—such as Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) and Small Diameter Bombs—the missile defense interceptors used in THAAD batteries and Patriot missile systems have reached critically low levels from a strategic standpoint.
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