Israel’s 12-Day War Revealed Alarming Gap in America’s Missile Stockpile
During conflict, Thaad operators burned through
nearly a quarter of interceptors ever purchased by Pentagon
Operating alongside Israeli systems, Thaad operators burned through munitions at a furious clip, firing
more than 150 missiles to shoot down the waves of Iranian ballistic missiles, according to U.S. officials. That is nearly a quarter of the interceptors ever purchased by the Pentagon.
The demand was so staggering that at one point, the Pentagon
considered a plan to divert interceptors purchased by
Saudi Arabia to the systems in Israel, one official said. The discussions were sensitive, because the kingdom’s cities and oil installations were also considered at risk during the conflict.
Very informative article (THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.).
This part is also interesting.
During the 12-day war, the
ships shot about 80 SM-3s at Iranian threats, according to a U.S. official.
There also are concerns in the Pentagon that the SM-3s, first used in combat last year, also to counter an Iranian attack, didn’t destroy as many targets as expected, according to two defense officials.
A Navy officer involved in the process said it is premature to judge SM-3 engagements.
“Testing and operational data from combat use consistently demonstrates that SM-3 are highly effective interceptors that have demonstrated the ability to defeat complex threats in the most stressing environments,” an RTX spokesman said.