US shoulders most of Israel’s missile defense effort, Pentagon assesses: Report

The US has carried most of Israel’s missile defense burden during the war with Iran, The Washington Post reported Thursday, citing US Defense Department assessments.

The report said the US military depleted a significant portion of its advanced interceptor inventory after using far more high-end missile defense munitions to protect Israel than Israeli forces themselves used during the conflict.

According to the report, Washington deployed more than 200 Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors to support Israel, representing nearly half of the Pentagon’s total stockpile.

The US also launched more than 100 Standard Missile-3 and Standard Missile-6 interceptors from naval vessels in the eastern Mediterranean, the report added.

In comparison, Israel reportedly used fewer than 100 Arrow interceptors and around 90 David’s Sling interceptors, some of them against less advanced projectiles launched by Iran-backed groups in Yemen and Lebanon.

A US administration official told the newspaper that “in total, the US shot around 120 more interceptors and engaged twice as many Iranian missiles.”

The official also warned that if hostilities involving the US, Israel and Iran resume in the coming days, Washington could be forced to use even more interceptors.

According to the report, the situation is partly linked to the Israeli military recently taking several missile defense batteries offline for maintenance.

“The imbalance will likely be exacerbated if fighting restarts,” the official said, according to the newspaper.