A U.S. government watchdog published its inaugural report on the Iran war on Monday. The findings highlight significant shortfalls in the military’s advanced weaponry. Additionally, the report provides the first public assessment of the damage inflicted on American aircraft, military bases, and diplomatic facilities across the Middle East.
The costs in physical damage to U.S. diplomatic facilities, however, had not been previously publicly released. The Pentagon has repeatedly pushed back against reports of any munitions shortage, saying the U.S. military has all the weapons it needs to fight any conflict. It noted that the U.S. naval base in Bahrain, a Navy logistics hub in the region, was targeted with Iranian drones and ballistic missiles. U.S. Central Command had to shift to supply lines to alternate hubs that were much farther away, including Diego Garcia, a U.S.-U.K. base on an island in the Indian Ocean.
Dozens of American aircraft and drones also were destroyed or damaged by Iran, including the destruction of as many as 30 MQ-9 Reaper drones that cost around $30 million apiece, the report said. Seven KC-135 refueling aircraft were damaged or destroyed, including five that were struck by Iranian munitions while on the ground in Saudi Arabia. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Congress in late July that the war had cost $37.5 billion so far. Such outposts in Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE were damaged by Iranian strikes, with an estimated cost of $184 million, according to the report.
The report, whose publication was first reported by NBC News, noted that the U.S. war with Iran “has resulted in strategic inventory shortfalls and revealed industrial base bottlenecks for munitions resupply” in regard to advanced weapons. Experts have previously said it will take about three years for military contractors to replenish advanced missiles and defensive missile interceptors to prewar levels. President Donald Trump said in a social media post Monday that the U.S. is “producing more Exquisite and Elite Weapons than at any time in our History. It required “14- to 18-day logistics cycles” to support operations in the Middle East, the report said. Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao acknowledged in an interview with The Epoch Times last week that “they blew the hell out of Bahrain” and said he has a task force looking into whether the Navy would need to repair the base in Bahrain to sustain its forces in the region.
