Kelly warns U.S. munitions are running low amid Iran war

The fight over the Iran war has shifted from battlefield claims to a sharper question inside Washington: whether the United States is burning through munitions faster than it can replace them. Sen. Mark Kelly said the answer is already visible in the numbers, warning that the Pentagon does not have an endless supply of weapons as airstrikes, missile defenses and regional attacks drive demand higher.

Speaking on Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan, Kelly said the U.S. had “a munitions issue” and that it was “widely understood” that after attacks on more than 10,000 targets from the air with cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and bombs from airplanes, “you are using a lot of munitions.” His warning came after weeks of tension with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over stockpiles, replenishment timelines and the price of the war.

Kelly had made the same case in a late-April Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, when he said, “We fired years’ worth of munitions… But, Mr. Secretary, this war is stuck.” He also said Hegseth had acknowledged that it would take years to replenish some U.S. stockpiles. Kelly has tied the conflict to higher costs for Americans as well, arguing that the war is pushing up prices for gasoline and food while the goal of the campaign remains unclear.

Hegseth pushed back hard in May, threatening a Pentagon review of whether Kelly had improperly disclosed classified information after Kelly spoke publicly about strain on ammunition inventories. Kelly said he was citing information from a public hearing and repeating Hegseth’s own assessment that rebuilding stockpiles would take years.

The numbers behind the dispute point to a sustained burn rate. The Pentagon said it had hit about 13,000 targets in the war with Iran, including missiles, launchers, navy ships and factories. Acting Pentagon Comptroller Jules Hurst III told lawmakers in late April that the conflict had already cost at least $25 billion, much of it for munitions.

The Pentagon is now racing to bolster capacity. In mid-May, the Defense Department announced framework agreements with Anduril, CoAspire, Leidos and Zone 5 under the Low-Cost Containerized Munitions program, a push to buy more than 10,000 cheaper cruise missiles in bulk and field them quickly from mobile launch systems.

Breaking Defense described the war as a rare ten-week data set for long-range strikes, with missile defenses proving effective but dwindling stockpiles emerging as a concern. Kelly’s warning put the issue plainly: the question is no longer whether the U.S. can strike at scale, but whether it can sustain deterrence, aid commitments and regional defense without outrunning its industrial base.