US acknowledges for first time that war in Iran caused weapons shortage

A U.S. government official has acknowledged for the first time that the war with Iran has caused munitions shortages in U.S. military stockpiles. A Defense Department inspector general report, covering February 28 to June 30, found that extensive ammunition use created "strategic gaps in stockpiles" and exposed "bottlenecks in the industrial base." This contradicts previous claims by the Trump administration, including President Trump's assertion that the U.S. military had "almost unlimited" quantities of ammunition. The report, submitted to Congress, indicates that the Pentagon is working to shorten procurement and production times, increase raw material stocks, and accelerate production lines, but acknowledges that increasing capacity requires "significant time."

• The war cost approximately $33.4 billion through June 29, with $22.3 billion attributed to munitions.
• More than 50,000 U.S. troops were deployed, conducting 36,000 combat sorties and strikes against 13,500 targets.
• Four F-15E fighter jets, one F-35A, one A-10, seven KC-135 tanker aircraft, and up to 30 MQ-9 drones were damaged or lost.
• Seven U.S. service members were killed in combat, seven died in non-enemy incidents, and 417 were wounded.