Mint ·
The US is burning through its supply of interceptors to counter Iran’s attacks
The U.S. had to expend 70 or more Patriots and Thaads to blunt an attack on Jordan.
The U.S. military fired up to 70 or more of its high-end air defense interceptors last week when Iran launched a missile attack on Jordan, U.S. and regional officials familiar with the matter said, a heavy expenditure that underscores Iran’s improved ability to target U.S. forces and challenge American air defenses.
U.S. forces fired 60 to 70 Patriot interceptors to counter the attack, which consisted of about 20 ballistic missiles, some of the officials said. The U.S. also fired more than a dozen Thaad interceptors as well, one of the officials said. The expenditure is about what the U.S. has used in a full week at other times in the war, another of the officials said.
Throughout the war, Iran’s attacks have grown increasingly complex, with the regime using different missile varieties, trajectories, maneuvers and warheads to try to overwhelm U.S. defenses, officials say. In July, Iran killed three U.S. servicemembers in one of those missile attacks on Jordan. U.S. officials say Iran acquired high-resolution satellite images of the base from Chinese entities before the attack, U.S. officials familiar with the details of the incident said.
