Pentagon inspector general says Iran war has caused weapons shortages

The Defense Department's inspector general revealed Monday that the United States is facing a shortfall in ammunition as a result of its costly war in Iran.In a first-of-its-kind mandatory report to Congress, the inspector said that between Feb. 28 and June 30, Operation Epic Fury (OEF) had an estimated cost of $33.4 billion, with $22.3 billion of that spent on munitions alone."The munitions expenditure on OEF has resulted in strategic inventory shortfalls and revealed industrial base bottlenecks for munitions resupply," the report states. An F-35C Lightning II, is staged for flight operations on the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln in support of Operation Epic Fury on March 2, 2026. U.S. Navy/Getty Images It also lists American military assets lost in the war, including four F-15s destroyed, one F-35 damaged, seven KC-135 tanker aircraft damaged and up to 30 MQ-9 Reaper drones destroyed.U.S. military ready "for any contingency"?President Trump has repeatedly brushed off concerns of depleted weapons supplies during the six months of war in the Middle East, saying just two weeks ago that the U.S. has "virtually unlimited amounts of Mid to High Grade Ammunition, far more than w...