The U.S. Department of Defence’s inspector general released a mandatory report to Congress on Monday, September 14, 2026, stating that the United States is experiencing a shortfall in ammunition as a result of its costly war in Iran.
The report, covering the period from February 28 to June 30, estimates that Operation Epic Fury (OEF) cost $33.4 billion, with $22.3 billion spent on expended munitions alone. It notes that the munitions expenditure has led to strategic inventory shortfalls and revealed bottlenecks in the industrial base for resupply.
Fleet losses were also documented. The U.S. lost four F‑15 fighter jets, one F‑35 was damaged, seven KC‑135 tanker aircraft sustained damage, and up to 30 MQ‑9 Reaper drones were destroyed. President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly dismissed concerns about depleted weapons stores, asserted that the U.S. has “virtually unlimited” ammunition and that it is producing “more exquisite and elite weapons than at any time in our history.”
Additional context in the report highlights shortages of long‑range guided missiles and air‑defence interceptors, noting that the U.S. military had nearly exhausted 80 % of its THAAD interceptor stock during the conflict. In the first 24 hours of war, U.S. forces struck more than 1,000 targets. Iranian strikes damaged and destroyed hundreds of buildings and structures at U.S. bases across Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, and Jordan, although the cost of rebuilding those bases was not included in the cost estimates.
