RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 5 sourcesPresident Donald Trump declared Thursday that the U.S. has a "massive" munitions stockpile and "treasonous" leakers are "being hunted down" after reports emerged claiming the U.S. Army has burned through nearly all of its stockpiles of two of its primary long-range precision weapons.
The Army has used "virtually all" of its inventories of Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) and Precision Strike Missiles (PrSM) during the five-month conflict with Iran, Reuters reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with internal U.S. military data.
"The U.S. has massive amounts of ‘munitions,’ especially of certain types. Additionally, large amounts are being manufactured and shipped to the U.S. as needed. Defense companies are building the largest number of plants and factories in our country’s history," Trump wrote on Truth Social early Thursday.
"The ‘leakers’ of these treasonous statements are being hunted down. Long term jail sentences will be sought!" the president added.
ALARMING MISSILE REPORT DRAWS FORCEFUL RESPONSE FROM TRUMP AS IRAN WAR TESTS AMERICA’S ARSENAL
Trump’s message was reposted on X by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth .
If accurate, the Reuters report underscores a long-standing Pentagon concern: America's most sophisticated precision weapons can be expended in months but often take years to replace.
Officials fear the drawdown could complicate the military's ability to respond to future crises involving adversaries such as China and Russia, according to the report.
WEAPONS STOCKPILE SHORTAGES IMPACTING MILITARY STRATEGY IN THE MIDEAST
Reuters also reported that the conflict significantly reduced inventories of Patriot and THAAD missile interceptors, along with Tomahawk cruise missiles, though the Pentagon has maintained the U.S. military retains the capabilities needed to carry out operations worldwide.
Exact U.S. weapons stockpile figures remain classified for national security reasons.
Some estimates show the U.S. has used more than half of its stockpiles of some weapons systems in the war with Iran. The Center for Strategic and International Studies found the U.S. has enough missiles to continue fighting in Iran under any plausible scenario, but the group says the true issue with the shrinking stockpiles is future wars.
"The depletion of munitions was a major topic and a major reason for the suspension of air attacks," Mark Cancian, a retired U.S. Marine colonel and senior advisor with the CSIS Defense and Security Department, told Fox News' Bret Baier. "Our inventories were getting way below what the war planners wanted. That might encourage China to do something."
CSIS notes many munition stockpiles are substantial but focused its analysis on seven key weapons that have been effective in Iran and would also be valuable in a possible Pacific conflict.
Trump said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital on Wednesday, "We have far more munitions than anyone in the world, and far more than we need, despite the fact that an unprecedented amount was given away by Crooked Joe Biden and the Biden Administration to Ukraine and Europe at no cost, in one of many of their extremely dumb moves."
The Pentagon has also pushed back on the reporting.
"America’s military is the most powerful in the world and has everything it needs to execute at the time and place of the President’s choosing. We have executed multiple successful operations across combatant commands while ensuring the U.S. military possesses a deep arsenal of capabilities to protect our people and our interests," chief spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement.
Fox News' Bret Baier and Amy Munneke and Fox News Digital's Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.
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