The US has only 25% of the Patriot missile interceptor stockpiles needed for the Pentagon’s military plans.
The Guardian reported on this.
The publication notes that low stocks of key air defense assets for countering ballistic threats have led the Trump administration to suspend their supply to Ukraine.
US President Donald Trump appears to have reversed at least part of this decision when he told reporters before a dinner at the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he would “send Ukraine some more weapons.”
Axios, citing its sources, reported today that Trump promised in a phone call with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyi to immediately send Ukraine ten Patriot missile interceptors.
According to data that The Guardian published, stocks of a number of critical munitions are below the minimum level required to carry out the operational plans of the US military.
The situation also escalated after Iran launched a missile strike on the Al-Udeid airbase in Qatar last month. The US fired about 30 Patriot missiles to intercept Iranian ballistic missiles.
As a result, the United States now has only about 25% of the Patriot interceptor missiles needed for all of the Pentagon’s military plans, having depleted its stocks in the Middle East in recent months.
This also affects plans to deploy more systems in the Middle East to support the campaign against the Houthis in Yemen.
According to sources, the Trump administration began reviewing the level of depleted Patriot missiles and other ammunition in February.
This information contradicts earlier reports by NBC News that the US Secretary of Defense had halted arms deliveries to Ukraine despite reports that they did not threaten the country’s defense capabilities.
The assessment at the time found that some stocks of high-precision ammunition were at lower levels but did not yet exceed critical minimums. However, it is not known whether this specifically referred to Patriot missile interceptors.
