Ousted US general warned before Iran war of missile defense shortages lasting until 2030: Report

Ousted US Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George warned months before the US-Israeli war against Iran that American missile defense stockpiles were critically low and could take until 2030 to recover, CBS News reported Thursday. George raised the warning in late December, two months before the conflict began, according to US officials familiar with his assessment. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth removed him from his post in April as the war was underway. The general’s assessment, included in the Pentagon’s fiscal 2027 force allocation planning, identified shortages of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors and Patriot missiles, with supplies expected to remain at strategically low levels until 2030. The officials reportedly attributed the shortfall to weapons transfers to Ukraine, US military support for Israel, and limited defense industry production capacity. The war with Iran has further strained supplies, according to the report. A Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) estimate found that US forces entered 2026 with approximately 2,300 Patriot interceptors and used between 1,050 and 1,430 during the conflict. The country’s prewar THAAD inventory stood at around 355 interceptors, of which an estimated 190 to 290 were expended. Mark Cancian, a retired Marine colonel and senior adviser at CSIS, told CBS News that these systems would be crucial in a potential conflict with China. “Air defense — missile defense — that will be huge,” he said, explaining that a major confrontation with Beijing would demand substantial interceptor supplies. Replenishing the stockpiles remains a lengthy process, the report said. The CSIS estimates that new THAAD interceptor contracts take over four years to fulfill, while Patriot PAC-3 orders take an average of 3 1/2 years. The Pentagon rejected claims of a shortage. Chief spokesman Sean Parnell told CBS News: “Claims of U.S. munitions shortages are false.” He added that Washington retains “everything required to strike at the time and place of the President’s choosing.”