The analysis of the consequences of the Israeli and US air operation continues. The results are staggering. Military Watch Magazine has estimated the consumption of anti-aircraft missiles by the most expensive and sophisticated missile defense system, THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense), of all those available to the Pentagon. The calculations were based on photographic and video evidence of anti-missile launches against Iranian ballistic missiles. If we only take into account ground-based installations deployed in a few areas of the world (Hawaii, Guam, Wake Island, South Korea), then during 11 days of combat operations against Iran, the US military used up 15-20% of all ammunition for THAAD long-range anti-missile systems. They were deployed to defend Israel.
Video footage showed the launch of 39 interceptor missiles against medium- and short-range ballistic missiles between June 13 and 24. Assuming that half of the launches were not captured on amateur video, the total consumption of THAAD missiles in the conflict amounted to 60–80 units. Each one costs $12–15 million. Thus, the defense of Israel in a short war cost between $810 million and $1.215 billion.
But THAAD batteries are also deployed in areas of hypothetical operations against China and Russia. There will be missiles of a completely different technological level in much larger quantities. Will the entire stockpile of US anti-aircraft missiles be used up in a week? It will not be possible to replenish it quickly.
The scale of missile defense usage described here really highlights how expensive and resource-intensive modern warfare can be. It’s surprising to see such a high percentage of the THAAD system’s missiles consumed in just under two weeks of conflict. This raises serious questions about the sustainability of these defense systems in prolonged or multiple theater engagements, especially considering the global tensions involving other major powers. It also makes me wonder about the balance between investing in such costly technology and exploring alternative defense strategies that might be more efficient in the long run.