Israel may run low on missile interceptors, putting US in a 'bind'

Show Caption

As Israel downs incoming volleys of Iranian missiles, a shortage of its missile interceptors could put both the United States and Israel in a bind.

After a week of its aerial war with Iran, Israel's long-range Arrow interceptors are running low, the Wall Street Journal reported on June 18. In addition to Arrow interceptors, which are Israeli-made, Israel also has U.S.-made THAAD systems, which intercept medium-range ballistic missiles.

If the United States chooses to replenish Israel's missile interceptors, it would mean drawing from other stockpiles, since Congress wouldn't have time to surge U.S. defense production of more, according to Brandan Buck, a research fellow at the Cato Institute. That could include siphoning off interceptors marked off for delivery to Ukraine, to Taiwan in a possible future conflict, or from the U.S.'s own national stock, Buck said.

"If they truly do run out... that's going to put us in a position in which we have to make some serious decisions," Buck said.

"It's going to put the U.S. and Israel in a bit of a bind," he added.

The U.S. could also position some naval ships off the coast to "augment some of their capacity," according to Buck.

The USS Nimitz, a massive aircraft carrier, is en route to the region and will arrive in less than a week, Paste BN previously reported. It will join the USS Carl Vinson, which moved to the Middle East in April.

When Iran launched a volley of ballistic missiles at Israel in October, the U.S. helped to intercept its attacks using interceptors fired from two other U.S. warships.

The U.S. spends $3.4 billion to bolster Israel's missile defense every year, including $1.3 billion for its Iron Dome, according to the State Department.

Iran could still have thousands of missiles in its arsenal

Israel keeps information about its missile interceptor stockpiles tightly under wraps. Its military said on June 16 that it had taken out a third of Iran's missile launchers.

Israel says its missile defense success rate stands at greater than 90% against Iran's attacks in the ongoing aerial war. Still, some have evaded Israel's defenses, including the missile that struck a hospital in southern Israel on Thursday.

It's also unclear exactly how many missiles Iran has left. The Pentagon estimated in 2021 that Iran just under 3,000 missiles of different ranges. Since Israel attacked Iran on June 12 through June 16, Iran had fired around 370 missiles, meaning thousands could remain.

Israel's multilayered air defense system is designed to take down incoming missives from a variety of ranges.

The Iron Dome intercepts missiles and rockets fired from a short range of up to around 45 miles, and David's Sling intercepts cruise missiles and rockets at a range of up to about 125 miles.

The longer-range missiles fired by Iran are picked up by the Israeli-made Arrow 2 and Arrow 3 systems, which intercept ballistic missiles at a range of up to around 60 miles and 1,500 miles, respectively.

In October, the United States sent Israel a THAAD system – capable of intercepting missiles inside and outside of the atmosphere – including American personnel to operate it. According to news reports, the United States sent a second THAAD to Israel in April, although the Pentagon has not publicly confirmed the transfer.

The U.S. Army has just seven THAAD batteries in total – it will get an eighth later this summer.