The Wall Street Journal warns of the “amazing gap” in the US missile Arsenal, saying it has seen a significant shortage of stockpiles during Washington’s recent support operations aimed at protecting the Israeli regime from massive Iranian retaliation.
The US released its remarks in a report on Thursday detailing the US unprecedented support project for the Israeli regime during Iran’s retaliation against the 12-day war in Tel Aviv in June.
The US has deployed two of its most advanced highland defense (THAAD) systems, almost a third of the world’s stocks, to support Israel, but Iranian projectiles still break through.
The drawbacks have come, but former Pentagon official Dan Shapiro calls the US deployment “an extraordinary commitment of US technology and personnel to Israel’s security.”
With five of the seven American THAAD units already deployed overseas, the US commander said he was concerned about the issue of “living” – the lack of downtime for critical maintenance and training.
The observers also pointed out that even if Washington scrambled the Patriot missile system to protect the Israeli regime, the billions of dollars in American defense equipment could not be carried out as expected.
According to the Journal, Iran’s missile barrage was so overwhelming that American planners even considered redirecting interceptors ordered to Palestinian territory occupied by Saudi Arabia.
“Achieving successful fatal object murders in a densely raided environment is extremely complicated,” says Johns Hopkins’ Tori Fried.
Meanwhile, this paper has destroyed the sudden cost of support.
It said that more than 150 Thaad interceptors have been released, with almost 25% of the Pentagon’s acquisitions to date being released.
Refilling only the THAAD used would cost up to $2 billion, and it would take over a year, according to Daily, and Lockheed Martin, the US defense giant behind the system, can only produce around 100 interceptors a year.
The paper also said that, with the exception of American missiles, it would soon drain Israeli missile stockpiles, and by the end the administration was nearing the exhaustion of its arrows, David’s slings and iron dome systems.
US officials admitted “if Iran fires several more massive volleys of missiles.”
The US Navy also unleashed 80 of the standard missile three interceptors, priced at $8-25 million each.
Meanwhile, American destroyers who are unable to reload missiles at sea have been returned to port in MidArwar.
Facing a massive amount of threat, top American experts continued to emphasize further the gross and inadequate status of the country’s missile construction.
“We are finally awakened to the need to procure large-scale defensive ammunition,” said Tom Caraco, of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Deputy Brad Cooper, who will soon be at the helm of the US Central Commander, warned Congress about the issue of “ammunition and magazine depth.”
Karako offered to enter another, saying, “One other concern is that the Iranians are trying to do this again. And we can’t afford to do it again.”
MNA/presstv