US Burned Through Up to 80% of THAAD Missiles in Iran War: Now the Pentagon Is Spending $35B to Restock

A truck-mounted THAAD launcher rolls into the hold of a C-17. The Pentagon operates only a handful of these worldwide. (Credit: YT/ Lockheed Martin Content Storage)

The United States may have used as much as 80 per cent of its THAAD missile interceptors while defending Israel from Iran this spring. Now the Pentagon is paying to rebuild the stockpile.

On Wednesday, 24 June, the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency awarded Lockheed Martin a seven-year contract worth up to £26.3 billion ($35 billion) to quadruple production of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors, the system that knocks out ballistic missiles high above the battlefield. The award runs through June 2032, with £632 million ($842.9 million) obligated at signing.