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Patriot and THAAD depleted
Ukraine’s ability to defend itself from Russia’s missile and drone attacks has hit a turning point as depleted air defences struggle to intercept many missiles, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy writing on social media on August 1 that "Only one ballistic missile was intercepted [on Saturday], simply because there are no interceptors for the Patriot systems."
“Only one ballistic missile was intercepted [on Saturday], simply because there are no interceptors for the Patriot systems”
ABC News & Headlines reports that a CNN report citing US officials found the US military had burned through nearly four-fifths of its Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) missile inventory in its war with Iran and roughly half of its Patriot interceptors since February.
Reuters, citing unidentified US sources, said the US Army had used up "virtually all" of its global stockpile of highly accurate long-range missiles during its war with Iran, referring to Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) and Precision Strike Missiles (PrSM).
The diminished stockpile is now impacting Ukraine’s ability to respond to Russian missile attacks because, as Mark Cancian, retired marine colonel and a senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), told ABC, "because there aren't any good alternatives to those missile defence systems".
Trump fights leak claims
In Washington, a Senate committee voted Thursday to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress and refer him to the Justice Department for potential prosecution over his refusal to answer questions at a hearing last week on his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, after Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination more than 100 times.
At the same time, President Donald Trump dismissed reports of a munitions shortage and said the "leakers" were being hunted down, writing on Truth Social that "The 'leakers' of these treasonous statements are being hunted down."
Forbes reported that Trump denied the U.S. is facing a munitions shortage and vowed to jail the "leakers" responsible for the claims, after Reuters reported the U.S. Army had used "virtually all" of its global stockpile of long-range missiles during its war with Iran.
The Hill added that Trump said the U.S. has massive amounts of "munitions," especially of certain types, and that "Additionally, large amounts are being manufactured and shipped to the U.S. as needed."
Diplomacy, production, and risk
As the U.S. weighs its next steps in the Iran war, Reuters and CBS News both tied the depletion narrative to the ability to sustain missile use, with CBS News saying the U.S. has used virtually all of its Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) and Precision Strike Missiles.
“America's military is the most powerful in the world and has everything it needs to execute at the time and place of the President's choosing”
CBS News also reported that Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement: "America's military is the most powerful in the world and has everything it needs to execute at the time and place of the President's choosing."
In parallel, Trump said the U.S. is pausing strikes again so diplomacy efforts can continue over the Strait of Hormuz, while still threatening to resume large-scale attacks if U.S. terms are not met, including saying, "I want to give them every last chance before decapitation," in the Oval Office Monday.
The Hill reported that the Pentagon announced deals with defense contractors Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin to boost production of missile interceptor parts, with the agreement intended to triple and quadruple production of Patriot Advanced Capability-3 and THAAD interceptors, respectively.
