Interceptors Save Lives, But Stockpiles Are Dwindling

Defense systems that shoot projectiles out of the sky have become one of the most important components of warfare, so much so that militaries face a diminishing supply.

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The number of interceptors in a nation’s arsenal is a closely guarded secret. No country wants its enemy to know just when it might run out. But analysis of Gulf state defenses suggest the waves of missile and drone attacks by Iran have sorely depleted the interceptor inventories in countries like the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain.

For instance, a report by the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, or JINSA, a Washington research organization, estimated that the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain had expended more than three-quarters of their Patriot missile PAC-3 interceptor stockpiles, one of the main defensive missiles in their arsenals. The report relied on an analysis of each nation’s prewar stockpiles and its potential interceptor use since the start of the conflict.

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