Pentagon seeks $18.2 billion to replenish advanced missile stockpiles

The Pentagon has requested $18.2 billion in emergency funding to replenish stocks of some of the United States' most advanced missiles, including Patriot interceptors, Tomahawk cruise missiles and the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system, according to budget documents submitted to Congress and reviewed by Bloomberg.

The funding request forms part of a broader $67 billion emergency spending package for the current fiscal year.

According to the documents, the previously undisclosed breakdown includes $3.28 billion for three variants of RTX Corp.'s Standard Missile interceptor family and $100 million for procurement of the classified Joint Advanced Tactical Missile, an air-to-air weapon developed by Lockheed Martin that has not yet entered operational service.

The request was submitted to the Senate and House defence committees and underscores concerns over US weapons inventories as American forces continue military operations against Iran and defend bases in the region from drone and missile attacks.

The documents are also expected to help analysts estimate how many munitions were expended during the conflict with Iran. Bloomberg reported that 13,629 munitions were fired at Iranian targets between the start of the war on February 28 and the ceasefire reached in April.

Among the largest procurement requests are $5.75 billion for Lockheed Martin's THAAD interceptors, $5.57 billion for Patriot Missile Segment Enhancement (PAC-3 MSE) interceptors and $1.9 billion for Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) systems used by the US Navy and Army.

Based on the funding levels, Chris Park of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies estimated that the package would finance the purchase of approximately 1,137 PAC-3 MSE interceptors, 479 THAAD interceptors, 462 Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles, 433 Precision Strike Missiles (PrSMs), and 442 SM-6 missiles.

Another analyst cited by Bloomberg said the proposed purchases would not fully replace the estimated number of Tomahawk, SM-6 and SM-3 Block IIA missiles used during the conflict. However, the planned acquisitions for PAC-3 MSE and THAAD interceptors appear to closely match estimated wartime expenditure.

By Sabina Mammadli