US interceptor stocks sink to "beyond critical" levels in Europe following war on Iran
The US military is facing a “beyond critical” shortage of advanced missile interceptors in Europe as a result of the war on Iran, AP reported on 28 August, citing a US defense official and a NATO official.
The defense official said NATO and US forces in Europe are suffering their “most concerning shortfall” of Patriot missile interceptors.
The shortage means European nations would have difficulty defending themselves in the event of ballistic missile attacks from Russia, such as on a military headquarters or power plant, AP noted.
NATO is currently engaged in a proxy war with Russia through Ukraine, which regularly suffers from such Russian attacks due to its own shortage of missile interceptors.
The US defense official said NATO could be forced “to take punch after punch in the mouth,” in the way that Ukraine often does.
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