PNN – In a report, The New York Times highlighted the day the US military expended fifty $4 million Patriot missiles to counter Iranian attacks.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network; The New York Times reported on Iran’s missile and drone capabilities and the rapid depletion of US interceptor missile stockpiles, noting that during recent attacks on US bases in Jordan, the Iranians managed to penetrate US air defense layers.
According to the newspaper, over the course of five days, Iran launched heavy attacks against U.S. forces stationed at three bases in Jordan, placing U.S. defense systems under strain by firing successive waves of drones and missiles.
The New York Times reported: Iran used advanced missiles capable of suddenly changing direction mid-flight. Iran’s successive attacks forced U.S. defense systems to expend a large number of Patriot interceptor missiles.
The newspaper reported that on the fifth day, an Iranian missile managed to penetrate air defenses and strike a U.S. troop location at one of the bases on July 17. Three U.S. soldiers were killed and more than 100 others were wounded in the attack. Pentagon officials later announced that dozens of additional troops had been wounded and several aircraft damaged in the attacks that week.
Rapid Depletion of Patriot Stockpiles
Citing two individuals familiar with the status of U.S. weapons stockpiles, The New York Times reported that the Pentagon has expended more than 1,500 Patriot interceptor missiles since the start of the war and currently holds fewer than 1,700 of them.
This comes as the United States is set to produce approximately 600 Patriot interceptor missiles throughout 2025.
According to the newspaper, during one day of Iranian attacks, the U.S. military fired about 50 Patriot interceptor missiles, each costing approximately four million dollars.
The New York Times emphasized that the rapid depletion of U.S. air defense stockpiles, coinciding with a shift in Iranian tactics, has placed mounting pressure on the country’s air defense capabilities.
Seth G. Jones, head of the defense and security program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told the newspaper that Iran has complicated U.S. air defense operations by simultaneously employing missiles and drones. He added: The Iranians have effectively adopted Russian tactics to make it more difficult to protect various locations across the Persian Gulf region.
Iran Has Changed Its Tactics
The New York Times also pointed to another instance of Iran shifting its tactics, noting that in April, a U.S. F-15 fighter jet was shot down over southern Iran by a man-portable surface-to-air missile.
According to the newspaper, Iran drew on lessons from the war in Ukraine for this operation, deploying a group of drones in the area where U.S. fighter jets had penetrated.
A senior U.S. military official stated that drones provided Iranian commanders with critical information—including the location, speed, and heading of the U.S. warplane—and that this data facilitated the targeting of the aircraft.
The New York Times reports that this incident created a need for U.S. military officials to adjust to Iran’s new tactics.
The newspaper ultimately emphasized that the combination of two factors—namely, the shift and increasing sophistication of Iran’s tactics and the rapid depletion of U.S. interceptor missile stockpiles—had become a major challenge for Washington in continuing the war.