Iran's response to Israeli-American attacks has involved extensive use of drones and ballistic missiles, raising concerns about the sustainability of their arsenal.
Iran's recent military response to Israeli-American strikes has caught many by surprise due to its scale and intensity. Alongside drone strikes and ballistic missile launches targeting Israel, Iran has aggressively attacked multiple Arab nations housing American military bases or joint facilities. As of early Monday, over 600 ballistic missiles and 900 drones were launched at these target states, indicating a significant escalation in regional hostilities.
One of the pressing questions arising from this escalation is the duration over which Iran can maintain such an intensive military campaign before exhausting its stockpile of drones and ballistic missiles. This concern is not limited to Iran alone; it also weighs heavily on the USA and its allies, including Israel and Persian Gulf nations, who must consider the implications of an extended conflict and their own military sustainment capacities.
Experts are weighing in on the situation, with estimates suggesting that Iran had about 3,000 ballistic missiles and approximately 400 launchers available in the middle of last year according to Seth Jones from the Center for Strategic and International Studies. In contrast, Israeli intelligence reportedly estimated that at the conflict's onset, Iran possessed around 2,500 ballistic missiles. These figures underscore the high stakes and rapid developments in the Middle East, echoing the gravity of the largest escalation in the region since the Iraq War of 2003.
