The US war against Iran has caused strategic munitions shortfalls and exposed bottlenecks in weapons resupply, the Defense Department's inspector general has confirmed, contradicting President Donald Trump's repeated assertions that American ammunition stocks remain effectively unlimited.
The independent watchdog found that the United States spent $33.4 billion on the conflict between February 28 and June 30, including $22.3 billion on expended munitions.
The report said the scale of munitions expenditure during Operation Epic Fury, the US name for its joint campaign with Israel, had resulted in inventory shortfalls while revealing limitations in the industrial base responsible for replenishing weapons.
It did not disclose the number of weapons remaining in US stockpiles.
Previous estimates cited by the BBC indicated significant depletion of some air and missile defense interceptors, including Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense systems.
The Pentagon is working to streamline procurement and production lead times while stockpiling critical materials, components and selected munitions, according to the report.
However, the watchdog noted that expanding production capacity requires significant lead time.
Trump has repeatedly rejected reports of ammunition shortages, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has also disputed reporting that US weapons stocks were running low.
Beyond ammunition expenditure, the inspector general recorded $3.7 billion in equipment losses and another $7.4 billion in other expenditures through June 30.
Reported aircraft losses included four F-15 fighters, while the report also identified an F-35 loss or damage and the destruction of up to 30 MQ-9 Reaper drones.
Iranian drone and ballistic missile strikes also targeted the US Navy's main regional logistics hub in Bahrain.
Hundreds of buildings and structures at US bases across several Middle Eastern countries were damaged or destroyed, although those costs were not included in the $33.4 billion estimate.
As of June 30, seven US service members had been killed in action, seven had died in non-hostile events and 417 had been wounded in action.
The findings provide an unusual independent assessment of American weapons inventories as the conflict continues months after the United States and Israel launched the war against Iran on February 28.