Washington — July 28 2025 – In June’s 12-day conflict between Iran and Israel, the US used two of their seven THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) batteries to protect Israeli cities–expending over 100 to 150 interceptors according to multiple sources (Yeni Safak of Caliber.az/Yeshiva World News). That represents roughly 25 percent of America’s THAAD inventory according to multiple reports (Yeni Safak/Caliber.az/Yeshiva World News).
Experts warn that this unprecedented consumption has exposed a significant capability shortfall in U.S. missile-defense architecture, severely straining readiness amid rising global threats, according to analysts at Wikipedia, Facebook and ynetnews. With respect to interceptor use and costs being an increasing problem globally.
Over 100 THAAD interceptors were deployed by Israel to defend itself during Iran’s intense missile barrage, according to Wikipedia, Yeni Safak and Anadolu Ajansi sources.
THAAD systems accounted for nearly half of interception activity as Israel’s Arrow systems proved inadequate to deal with the scale of attack; JINSA/Stars and Stripes units played an additional role.
Every missile costs around $12.7 million to manufacture in the U.S., yet production only produced 11 interceptors in fiscal year 2018/19 (according to Facebook, Yeni Safak and Anadolu Ajansi).
JuNKSA estimates it could take three to eight years under current production rates to replenish THAAD stockpiles with THAAD missiles; Financial Times, Stars & Stripes and Yeshiva World News all reported this estimate.
Implications and Strategic Concerns
The U.S. production pipeline is already straining under its current workload: 12 interceptors are anticipated for fiscal year 2025 according to the defense budget, while 37 more interceptors will follow thereafter (Yeni Safak +Anadolu Ajansi =1).
Military experts and retired officials have repeatedly warned of the precarious state of military readiness prior to current tensions, with former defense official Mark Keplinger noting how low some readiness levels were, noting “stockpiles are decreasing”, etc. Yeshiva World News
Experts agree THAAD is an expensive resource and repeated use at this pace is not something the U.S. can afford to do on an ongoing basis (Yahiva World News +9 and ynetnews +9)
Navy Interceptor Strain Adds to Concerns
Similar to THAAD depletion, U.S. Navy interceptors such as the SM-3 and SM-6 interceptors have also become heavily utilized during Red Sea and Eastern Mediterranean operations. Admiral James Kilby cautioned that overrelying on expensive interceptors is unsustainable, suggesting instead increasing use of lower cost systems such as $25,000 AGR-20 rockets to handle lower tier threats like drone swarms and drone swarms ( The Wall Street Journal + Business Insider + Business Insider).
High Stakes, Strained Readiness
The June Iran-Israel escalation resulted in a significant ballistic missile exchange. Iran fired more than 500 missiles at Israel, of which more than 200 were intercepted by air defense systems and interceptors; still others managed to sneak past and strike Tel Aviv and other urban areas, leading to at least 29 casualties (Yeni Safak+1 Anadolu Ajansi+1).
According to JINSA, interceptor costs totaled about $1.5 billion but prevented an estimated $13.4 billion worth of property damage for Israel, saving an estimated total of over $15 billion from being done to Israel’s infrastructure and economy as a whole. (Sources: JINSA + The Wall Street Journal +1)
But cost efficiency cannot obscure the vulnerability of air-defense readiness when stockpiles dwindle so rapidly.
Urgent Push to Expand Production
The Pentagon is making a concerted effort to increase THAAD production and strengthen interceptor supply chains, proposing spending as much as $1.3 billion on industry investments, along with $2.5 billion to increase munitions manufacturing (ynetnews, June 16th 2018).
Analysts insist on further modernizing and diversifying missile defense strategies in order to maintain national security.
Recent opinion letters underscored the U.S. industrial capacity to produce interceptors is limited, especially given global demands from Middle Eastern and Asian states. Authors urged allies not to expect open-ended U.S. support, according to Financial Times reports.
Bottom Line
The June missile war between Iran and Israel highlighted a critical deficit in U.S. missile-defense readiness. After expending about one-quarter of its THAAD inventory in two weeks, the United States revealed vulnerabilities in its ability to respond quickly and adequately to high-volume ballistic threats. With production delays, experts caution that replenishment timelines spanning years pose strategic risks–especially since state opponents often employ saturation as an effective tactic against them.