US has used a third of its JASSM, Tomahawk and interceptor stocks fighting Iran, while Iran fires $20,000 drones. The cost gap pressures defense contractors like RTX, BA, LMT.
The United States has depleted a third of its inventory of stand-off and air defense missiles in the war with Iran, according to an analysis by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J.S. Davies. The authors, writing for the anti-war group CODEPINK, documented the loss of JASSM and Tomahawk cruise missiles, as well as SM-2 and SM-6 anti-aircraft missiles. Half of Patriot and THAAD interceptors have also been used, they said.
The missiles range in price from $700,000 each for JASSMs to $12 million each for THAAD interceptors. Iran has countered with Shahed drones costing $20,000 to $50,000 each, creating a wide cost gap. The US has also lost at least four F-15 fighters, an F-35, an A-10, and 24 MQ-9 Reaper drones, the authors said, citing the Congressional Research Service.
The analysis shows the strain on the US defense industrial base. The five largest contractors, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, RTX, General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman, stand to benefit from replenishment orders. The effectiveness of their expensive systems is under scrutiny. The war has also forced the US to reposition forces, including relocating Central Command from Qatar to Jordan after Iranian attacks.
AlphaScala data shows mixed scores for the major defense primes. RTX (RTX) has an Alpha Score of 54 out of 100, labeled Mixed. Boeing (BA) scores 45, also Mixed. Lockheed Martin (LMT) scores 60, Moderate. The scores reflect the uncertain outlook as the war continues to consume high-cost munitions.
The US has spent $21 trillion on its military from 2001 to 2024, equal to the combined spending of the next 18 countries, according to SIPRI data cited by the authors. Iran's 2025 military budget is estimated at $7.5 billion. The disparity in spending has not translated into battlefield dominance, the analysis argues.
The authors note that the US has lost nearly every war since 1945, with the exception of small operations in Grenada and Panama. The US also won the 1991 Gulf War to recover Kuwait, they said. The current conflict in Iran, they say, is unwinnable and has exposed the limits of the US military's high-cost, low-volume approach.
Trump has requested a record $1.5 trillion in military spending for FY2027. The House-passed NDAA authorizes $1.15 trillion in discretionary military spending. The Senate has so far blocked its version of the NDAA, according to the analysis.
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