Several Persian Gulf states are burning through air defense interceptors faster than they can be replaced, with regional officials warning that U.S. resupply efforts have stalled even as Iranian missile barrages continue into day four of Operation Epic Fury.
Two regional officials told CBS News that Gulf governments have asked Washington to expedite new supplies but deliveries are not arriving fast enough
A western official and a former U.S. official familiar with the matter told Middle East Eye that the U.S. is “stonewalling” requests from some Gulf states to replenish stocks. According to the former official, at least one nation targeted by Iranian strikes inquired about resupplies but was ignored by American authorities.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dismissed supply concerns at a Pentagon briefing Wednesday.
“Our stockpiles of those, as well as Patriots, remain extremely strong,” Hegseth said. “The enemy can no longer shoot the volume of missiles they once did.”
Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, added that the military has “sufficient precision munitions for the task at hand, both on the offense and defense.”
Chairman Caine provided an update on Operation Epic Fury. pic.twitter.com/dAkacRZC6R
— DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) March 4, 2026
Defense analysts are less optimistic. Kelly Grieco, a senior fellow at the Stimson Center, told ABC News the conflict is becoming a “war of attrition.”
“The question is becoming who runs out of missiles first,” Grieco said. “Does the defender run out of interceptors, or does Iran run out of missiles?”
Since Saturday, the United Arab EmiratesUAE has neutralized 1,190 projectiles, including 181 ballistic missiles and 1,001 drones. Using Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) and Patriot PAC-3 systems, the UAE maintains a 95% success rate, though each interceptor can cost up to $13 million and takes years to manufacture, creating a massive cost asymmetry against cheap Iranian munitions.
“The UAE has now burned through a significant chunk of an interceptor stockpile that took years to build,” Grieco wrote on X.
10/ The UAE has now burned through a significant chunk of an interceptor stockpile that took years to build — in 48 hours.
— Kelly Grieco (@ka_grieco) March 1, 2026
Grieco estimated that at last year’s rate of use during the 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran, the U.S. THAAD stockpile might last only about two weeks. The Trump administration plans to meet today, Friday with executives from major defense contractors to discuss accelerating weapons production, Reuters reported.
