Saudi Arabia’s Patriot missile stockpile falls 86% amid Iran war
Saudi Arabia’s stockpile of Patriot interceptor missiles has fallen by 86 percent since the beginning of the war with Iran, according to Reuters.
Over the 38 days of fighting, Saudi Arabia has used most of its estimated stockpile of 2,800 PAC-3 interceptors, leaving approximately 400 missiles in its inventory.
The sharp depletion has raised concerns over the availability of air-defence interceptors in the region. In response, the United States government approved the sale of 5,250 additional missiles to Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
The United States is also seeking to expand production of Patriot interceptors. On July 29, representatives of the U.S. Army signed a contract with Lockheed Martin worth up to $58.6 billion for the production of PAC-3 MSE missiles. The agreement is reportedly the largest order in the history of the Patriot programme.
The contract is expected to be fulfilled over seven years, with production intended to meet the requirements of both the U.S. military and foreign customers. However, current production capacity remains insufficient to rapidly replenish depleted stocks.
A major bottleneck is the production of the missiles’ homing heads, which are manufactured at Boeing facilities at an estimated rate of 500 to 650 units annually.
Boeing is seeking to increase production. The company plans to raise output to about 850 homing heads per year in 2026 and has announced plans to triple production capacity.
The expanded capacity is expected to increase annual production to approximately 2,250 units by 2028–2029, with output projected to exceed 3,000 units annually after 2030.
The pressure on missile inventories is not limited to Saudi Arabia. Earlier reports indicated that U.S. stockpiles of Patriot interceptors had fallen below 1,000 amid the war with Iran, while the number of THAAD interceptors had dropped to approximately 250.
The depletion has also prompted the Trump administration to seek additional funding for missile production. Its budget request includes $95 billion for ammunition purchases in 2027, alongside an additional $21 billion in supplemental funding.
The U.S. plans to procure more than 3,000 Patriot missiles and approximately 800 THAAD interceptors in 2027 as it seeks to rebuild its air-defence inventories and meet growing demand from both domestic and foreign customers.
