A Pentagon Inspector General report reviewing the first four months of the war found that US munitions expenditures have created shortages in strategic weapons inventories.

On Tuesday, Congress received an IG report reviewing the first four months of the war. The report quotes the Office of the Under Secretary for Acquisition and Sustainment OUSW(A&S)  explaining that “the munitions expenditure in [Iran War] has resulted in strategic inventory shortfalls and revealed industrial base bottlenecks for munitions resupply.”

The IG warned that there will be a “significant lead time,” before the US is able to produce weapons at a rate to replenish stockpiles.  “While the [Pentagon] has begun to implement mitigation strategies, the defense industrial base requires ‘significant lead time’ to expand production capacities,” The OUSW(A&S) said. “The most persistent bottlenecks remain in the production of solid rocket motors, the availability of high-grade explosives and propellants, and the recruitment of skilled manufacturing labor.”

Multiple reports citing US officials and outside analysts have warned that the military is facing shortages of missile interceptors and long-range strike weapons. Outside estimates suggest the US has expended substantial portions of its Patriot and THAAD interceptor inventories and fired more than 1,000 Tomahawk cruise missiles during the conflict.

President Donald Trump has responded to the leaks by calling the outlets covering the shortages “treasonous.” He has also asserted that the US is ramping up munitions production and the Department of War has all the weapons it needs to continue the conflict. 

The report said that from the start of the war until June 30, the US spent $33.4 billion on the conflict. The bulk of the cost was munitions ($22.3 billion) and operations costs ($7.4 billion). 

Additionally, the US has lost several aircraft, including F-15s, an A-10, and drones, while others have sustained damage, including an F-35 and several refueling tankers. The replacement cost for the equipment is $3.7 billion. 

The White House has asked Congress to pass a $67.1 billion supplemental funding bill to cover the cost of the conflict. The request includes $21 billion to replace the munitions used during the conflict. 

The report only covered the first four months of the war. The IG report did not consider the munitions used and American losses since July 1.