Photo courtesy of Anadolu.
The US military’s four-month campaign against Iran depleted key weapons stocks and exposed weaknesses in the defense industrial base’s ability to replenish them quickly, according to the Pentagon inspector general’s first assessment of the conflict.
The report said heavy use of munitions during Operation Epic Fury created “strategic inventory shortfalls” and highlighted production bottlenecks involving solid rocket motors, high-grade explosives, propellants and skilled labor.
It said the Pentagon was trying to shorten procurement timelines, expand production and stockpile critical materials and selected munitions to improve readiness for future contingencies.
The inspector general noted that defense manufacturers require substantial lead time to increase output, meaning some shortages cannot be resolved quickly even with additional funding.
The report estimated the cost of the war at about $33.4 billion as of June 29. Of that amount, roughly $22.3 billion was attributed to munitions expended and $3.7 billion to equipment losses based on replacement value.
Infrastructure repair costs were not included in the estimate, suggesting the final financial impact could be higher.
The findings add detail to an issue that US officials have publicly played down. President Donald Trump has said the country retains large ammunition reserves, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has rejected claims that shortages have severely constrained US military options.
At the same time, Hegseth told Congress in July that the Pentagon could face critical shortfalls without supplemental funding to replace weapons, maintain operations and cover personnel costs. The White House had earlier requested $87.6 billion in emergency funding, including $67.1 billion for the Pentagon and $21 billion specifically for munitions.
The report also recorded seven US service members killed in action and seven more killed in non-hostile incidents between Feb. 28 and June 30, with 417 wounded. It said four additional troops were killed in action in July.
