News

Pentagon watchdog confirms munition shortages, says Iran ‘exposed’ resupply bottleneck

September 16, 2026

Reported by: The Cradle

The US War Department’s inspector general informed Congress on 14 September that the war on Iran has drained US munitions stockpiles and strained the industrial base to replace them, placing the cost of the first four months of fighting at $33.4 billion.

“The munitions expenditure on [Operation Epic Fury] has resulted in strategic inventory shortfalls and revealed industrial base bottlenecks for munitions resupply,” the inspector general wrote in the report, which covers 28 February to 30 June.

To offset the gaps, the Pentagon is moving to speed up procurement and shorten production timelines while building reserves of critical materials, components, and selected munitions, the report said, cautioning that any expansion of production capacity demands considerable lead time.

Of the total, $22.3 billion went on expended munitions, $3.7 billion on equipment losses, and $7.4 billion on other expenditures.

The figure excludes the cost of repairing bombed facilities, which the inspector general said remains unsettled because it is not yet clear which bases will be rebuilt or who will pay for it.

The report confirms that Iran struck the US Navy’s main regional logistics hub in Bahrain with drones and ballistic missiles, and that Iranian strikes damaged or destroyed hundreds of buildings and structures at US bases across Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, and Jordan.

Aircraft losses as of 30 June include four F-15 fighters destroyed, an F-35 damaged, seven KC-135 tankers damaged, and up to 30 MQ-9 Reaper drones destroyed.

The report states that as of 30 June as well, seven US service members had been killed in action and another seven in non-hostile events, with 417 wounded in action.

The findings contradict US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly dismissed reports over depleted weapons stores across the six months of war on Iran.

Trump wrote on Truth Social the same day that the US is “producing more Exquisite and Elite Weapons than at any time in our History,” adding that they are delivered daily to US forces in West Asia and beyond.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth put the cost at $37.5 billion in testimony to the Senate Appropriations Committee on 21 July, a figure he said covered projected expenses through the end of the fiscal year on 30 September.

Independent trackers put the six-month total at roughly $43 billion, a figure that still leaves out many long-term costs.

Internal Pentagon assessments go further, placing the eventual bill between $80 billion and $100 billion once base repairs, full weapons replenishment, and other expenses are counted.