The scale of the US response to Iran’s latest missile barrage has highlighted a growing vulnerability in American air defenses: intercepting incoming missiles can itself become an unsustainable drain on limited stocks of defensive weapons, according to a report by Military Watch Magazine.

During the night of August 30, US forces deployed two MIM-104 Patriot batteries from Ansbach, Germany, to defend US military positions in Jordan against an Iranian ballistic missile attack. More than 80 surface-to-air interceptors were reportedly launched, with close to four Patriot missiles fired against each incoming Iranian missile in some cases.

The exchange illustrates the cost imbalance between the two sides. A Patriot interceptor is estimated to cost four to five times more than the Iranian ballistic missiles it is used to destroy. That disparity allows an attacker to impose substantial financial and logistical pressure even if most of its missiles are intercepted.

Iran launched the barrage after the US struck Iranian naval facilities, an attack that caused multiple casualties. While US officials claimed that the Iranian response caused no damage to facilities, footage from the ground and satellite imagery cited in the report indicate otherwise.

More significant than the immediate damage, however, is what the engagement reveals about the sustainability of the US missile-defense posture. Some estimates suggest that the more than 80 PAC-3 interceptors used during the attack amounted to over 10% of the entire US stockpile, at a time when Patriot ammunition is already in short supply across the Western world.

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