The Pentagon is overhauling its approach to buying missile-defence interceptors after years of relatively modest procurement left stockpiles thinner than needed, a shortfall exposed by the recent conflict involving Iran. Officials are now moving to buy roughly ten times more interceptors such as PAC-3 MSE and THAAD, amid concern that depleted arsenals could undermine American readiness for a potential confrontation with China, which has built up the world's largest arsenal of conventional ballistic and cruise missiles.

The push follows warnings from military figures, including retired Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery, that the real lesson of the Iran conflict was not that the US expended too many weapons, but that it entered the fight without sufficient high-end munitions in reserve. With Washington's strategic focus increasingly centred on the Indo-Pacific, defence planners are treating the replenishment of interceptor stocks as an urgent priority to close the gap before any future crisis.