The publication said the missiles would be enough, at best, for a single major attack. It described the situation as especially dire given the number of missiles the United States is using in the Middle East.
The PAC-2 is an older interceptor generation. Defense Express said the missiles “perform poorly against ballistic missiles.”
The publication said that as Europe tries to gather even a few additional air defense missiles for Ukraine, the United States is not attempting to conserve its own supplies, further deepening a global shortage. The U.S. military uses three to four interceptor missiles against a single target, it said.
On Sept. 16, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources, that U.S. forces had fired as many as 70 or more advanced interceptor missiles after Iran launched a missile attack on Jordan.
According to some officials, U.S. forces fired between 60 and 70 Patriot interceptors to repel an attack involving about 20 ballistic missiles. The United States also fired more than a dozen THAAD interceptors.
By comparison, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said
in July that Ukraine needed 100 Patriot missiles each month to get through the
winter.