The Defense Department’s independent watchdog acknowledged the shortfall, a concern the administration has downplayed for months.
09/15/2026 3:28 PM UTC |Updated: 09/15/2026 8:20 PM UTC
The war in Iran has led to a shortfall in munitions and bottlenecks in efforts to resupply the U.S. military, according to a Monday report from the Pentagon’s inspector general.
The findings come as the latest conflict in the Middle East nears 200 days, and they contrast with statements from President Donald Trump and administration officials, who have brushed aside concerns raised by some lawmakers and experts and by defense officials privately.
The Pentagon’s office of the undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment told investigators that “the munitions expenditure in [Operation Epic Fury] has resulted in strategic inventory shortfalls and revealed industrial base bottlenecks for munitions resupply,” the report read.
The Defense Department is now “working to streamline procurement processes and production lead times, and to stockpile critical materials, components, and selected munitions to respond rapidly to a contingency,” the report, which covers the first months of the war through the end of June, continued.