What Happened?

The U.S. military has used up a huge number of missiles in recent combat, and refilling the shelves won't be quick or cheap. Some of those are interceptors, which are missiles built to shoot down other missiles. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is Congress' in-house research office, and it published a report asking whether the U.S. has enough weapons to keep operations going and what lawmakers could do about restocking, funding and building more.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), which estimates what government decisions cost, said the U.S. had "probably used between one-half and two-thirds" of its inventory of certain missile-defense interceptors. CBO put the price tag for replacing the munitions used through Aug. 1 at $21.7 billion.

Why Does it Matter to Me?

That includes $7.3 billion for cruise missiles that strike targets on land and $13.1 billion for missile-defense interceptors. The big question is whether the U.S. has enough left to keep operations going and to back up its allies, though the exact size of any shortage has not been publicly confirmed. The CRS report also warns of a possible weak spot in the U.S. plan to keep "a strong denial defense along the First Island Chain," a string of islands off Asia's east coast in the Indo-Pacific region.

On June 24, the Office of Management and Budget, which helps put together the president's budget, asked Congress for extra funding that included $21 billion for munitions. The Department of Defense (DOD) came up with a higher number, estimating replacement costs at $27.7 billion, according to CBO. The CRS report also says U.S. defense factories can only build so much at once, which forces a trade-off between filling Foreign Military Sales orders from other countries and restocking American supplies.

Both Sides, Now

President Donald Trump said in September that the U.S. had "more munitions than we could ever possibly even think of using," but the DOD Inspector General, the department's internal watchdog, citing acquisition officials, said the spending had caused "strategic inventory shortfalls" and exposed bottlenecks in getting resupplies.

A similar squeeze showed up before, when a U.S. Government Accountability Office report from April 2024 found that DOD had dipped into its stockpiles to help Ukraine and that defense factories would need to ramp up production to restock U.S. supplies and meet other rising demand. Task & Purpose reported in September 2026 that CBO analysis found rebuilding certain interceptor stocks could take at least five years.

As of Oct. 5, it is still unclear whether Congress will respond with more money, more authority to boost production, or closer oversight of which Foreign Military Sales orders go first, because the key bills are still under consideration.

What Happens Next?

Lawmakers are weighing provisions in H.R. 8800 that would require reports on what operations against Iran cost, where munitions stockpiles stand, and how foreign military sales demand fits into plans for U.S. defense factories.

In July, the House adopted a budget plan, H.Con.Res. 113, that allows up to $60 billion in added deficits for fiscal years 2027 through 2036, but it does not say how much of that would go to munitions. As of Oct. 5, the Senate had not yet taken it up.

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