The United States Had Enough Missiles To Defend Taiwan. Then It Attacked Iran.
Stocks of air-launched cruise missiles are depleting fast.
The U.S. military is reportedly shifting most of its best air-launched cruise missiles to U.S. Central Command for the war on Iran as the conflict grinds into its sixth week.
But every AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Strike Missile that CENTCOM fires at Iranian targets is a JASSM that U.S. Indo-Pacific Command can’t fire at Chinese targets in the event of war over Taiwan.
Between combat losses—especially tankers and long-range radars—wear and tear on ships, planes and other equipment and depletion of critical munitions including long-range surface-to-air missiles and land-attack cruise missiles, U.S. forces are losing their ability to confidently confront Chinese forces in the western Pacific.
