Hegseth faces scrutiny over missile stockpile, says rebuilding could take years

Pete Hegseth is facing mounting scrutiny over whether the Pentagon is downplaying a real munitions squeeze after saying publicly that the nation’s stockpiles are “great” and “only getting stronger.” The defense secretary had already told senators that rebuilding depleted arsenals could take “months and years,” a stark contrast that has put U.S. readiness and military planning at the center of the debate.

The contradiction surfaced most sharply at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on April 30 in Washington, where Hegseth testified on the Pentagon’s Fiscal Year 2027 budget request and Future Years Defense Program. He said the department was operating in a complex threat environment and that the speed of replenishment would vary by weapon system. Hegseth also told lawmakers the administration was proposing a $1.5 trillion defense budget for fiscal 2027, up from a historic $1 trillion topline for fiscal 2026. Gen. Dan Caine and acting comptroller Jay Hurst also testified, while committee members pressed Hegseth on the Iran war and the pace at which munitions were being used.

Hegseth later dismissed the shortage narrative in a CBS News interview, calling it a “manufactured story” and saying the United States was “building new plants in real time” to speed production and co-produce weapons where possible. But the broader stockpile picture remains uneasy. A Center for Strategic and International Studies analysis released May 27 said the United States has enough munitions for any plausible Iran-war scenario, but that depleted inventories have created a “window of vulnerability” for other contingencies, especially in the Western Pacific. The analysis estimated Tomahawk, THAAD and Patriot stocks would take three or more years to return to prewar levels, with Tomahawk replenishment stretching to late 2030 or early 2031, THAAD to mid-to-late 2029 and Patriot to around mid-2029.

The pressure intensified because the depletion was not abstract. Cronkite News, citing Payne Institute estimates, reported that in the first 16 days of the conflict the U.S. used more than 6,000 defensive and offensive munitions, including nearly 46% of ATACMS and Precision Strike Missiles and nearly 40% of U.S.-operated THAAD interceptors. It also said the first days of the war consumed about $1.9 billion worth of Tomahawk missiles. Mark Cancian of CSIS said the larger danger was not running out for the Iran fight itself, but being understocked for a possible conflict with China, a concern amplified by Chinese statements about Taiwan and by warnings that U.S. forces could face limited firepower in a future Pacific war.

That concern made the hearing political as well as strategic. Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, a Navy combat veteran, challenged Hegseth over the burn rate and said the U.S. had fired “years’ worth of munitions” in a war that was not meeting its objectives. Hegseth later accused Kelly of revealing classified information after Kelly discussed the issue on television. Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker opened the hearing by saying the country was living in “the most dangerous security environment since World War II,” a warning that now hangs over every claim about how much firepower the Pentagon really has left.