Kelly Grieco Warns Missile Defense Bill Risks Coming Due
Department of Defense assessments show the United States fired roughly half of its THAAD interceptors defending Israel during missile defense operations tied to Operation Epic Fury. Kelly Grieco said that leaves the Pentagon with roughly 200 THAAD interceptors and a production line that cannot keep pace with demand.
THAAD and SM-3 Usage
Grieco, a Stimson Center senior adjunct fellow, said the U.S. absorbed most of the missile defense mission while Israel conserved its own magazines. She added, “The numbers are striking,” and warned that “the bill risks coming due” if the U.S. suddenly engages in military action with additional hostile nations outside of Iran.
According to reporting by John Hudson, the U.S. also fired more than 100 SM-3 and SM-6 interceptors in defense of Israel. Israel fired fewer than 100 Arrow interceptors and around 90 David Sling interceptors, using less of its own stock than the U.S. did.
Israel and Washington
The Israeli embassy said, “The U.S. has no other partner with the military willingness, readiness, shared interests, and capabilities of Israel.” The Department of Defense responded that “Ballistic missile interceptors are just one tool in a vast network of systems and capabilities.”
A U.S. official told the Post that “Israel is not capable of fighting and winning wars on its own, but nobody actually knows this, because they never see the back end.” The same official said that if the U.S. and Israel resume hostilities in the coming days, the U.S. military would likely expend an even greater share of interceptors.
Operation Epic Fury
The depletion raises a practical question for Washington: how much of its advanced missile-defense inventory can it spend on one partner’s war before production catches up. Grieco’s warning puts the answer in immediate terms — the stockpile is already thinner, and any new fight involving another hostile state would force the Pentagon to draw from what remains.
