Pentagon seeks $18.2 billion for interceptor missiles amid Iran war

The US Department of Defense has requested $18.2 billion out of a total $67 billion in emergency funding for this fiscal year to replace the latest American Patriot missiles, Tomahawk cruise missiles used by the Navy, and the Thaad interceptor missile system used by the Army.

According to documents reviewed by Bloomberg, details of this previously undisclosed amount include $3.28 billion for three models from the Navy's RTX Standard Missile interceptor family, and $100 million to purchase a classified air-to-air weapon referred to as the Joint Advanced Tactical Missile, which has not been used before.

The documents, prepared by the Pentagon and submitted to both the Senate and House of Representatives, highlight growing concerns over declining US weapons stockpiles amid the war on Iran and the interception of drones and missiles targeting US bases in the region.

According to a briefing submitted to the Senate Appropriations Committee on July 21, the funding request includes $21 billion to accelerate the purchase of advanced missiles and low-cost munitions not yet acquired, including the long-range JDAM bomb guided by GPS and low-cost ground-launched container munitions. It was noted that the value of these munitions does not exceed $3 billion of the total requested funding.

According to Bloomberg, the allocations include $5.75 billion for Thaad interceptor missiles produced by Lockheed Martin, $5.57 billion for additional models of the enhanced Patriot (MSE) missiles—also produced by Lockheed Martin and the most advanced variant—and $1.9 billion for Standard Missile-6 models for the Navy and Army.