A sailor handles munitions on the flight deck of the USS George Washington in the Arabian Sea, September 13, 2026. The aircraft carrier, capable of carrying more than 5,000 personnel, is enforcing a U.S. naval blockade against Iran and providing cover for commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
The U.S. Department of Defence’s inspector general revealed Monday (September 14, 2026) that the United States is facing a shortfall in ammunition as a result of its costly war in Iran.
In a first-of-its-kind mandatory report to Congress, the inspector said that between February 28 and June 30, Operation Epic Fury (OEF) had an estimated cost of $33.4 billion, with $22.3 billion of that spent on expended munitions alone.
The report noted, “The munitions expenditure on OEF has resulted in strategic inventory shortfalls and revealed industrial base bottlenecks for munitions resupply.”
It also lists losses to the American fleet, including four F-15s destroyed, one F-35 damaged, seven KC-135 tanker aircraft damaged and up to 30 MQ-9 Reaper drones destroyed.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly brushed off concerns of depleted weapons stores during the six months of war in West Asia, saying the U.S. has “virtually unlimited” ammo just a couple weeks ago.
On Monday (September 14) Mr. Trump posted to his Truth Social platform, saying again the U.S. is producing “more Exquisite and Elite Weapons than at any time in our History.”
CNN has previously reported that shortages of long-range guided missiles and air-defence interceptors had affected Mr. Trump’s strategy in the conflict with Iran, with the U.S. military having “nearly exhausted 80%” of its stock of THAAD interceptors.
During the first 24 hours of war against Iran, the United States struck more than 1,000 targets, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has said, and has not returned to such large scale attacks in recent months.
The report notes that “Iranian strikes damaged and destroyed hundreds of buildings and structures at U.S. bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, and Jordan during the conflict,” but does not include those costs in the cost estimates, saying it’s not yet clear if all the bases will be built, or who will foot the bill.
Published – September 15, 2026 08:55 am IST
