US Patriot missile stocks in Europe 'beyond critical' due to Iran war, officials say
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military is experiencing a “beyond critical” shortage of advanced missile interceptors in Europe largely driven by President Donald Trump’s war with Iran, a U.S. defense official in Europe and a NATO official told The Associated Press, raising concerns about vulnerabilities in NATO countries to a potential Russian attack. The U.S. defense official said the most concerning…
The United States military finds itself facing a "beyond critical" shortage of advanced missile interceptors in Europe, primarily due to President Donald Trump's ongoing war with Iran, according to a U.S. defense official in Europe and a NATO official. This alarming situation has raised concerns about the vulnerabilities of NATO countries to potential Russian attacks, particularly with Russia's high-speed ballistic missiles.
The most concerning deficiency revolves around Patriot missile interceptors, capable of neutralizing such threats. The NATO official corroborated the dwindling stocks of Patriots among American and NATO forces across Europe. Both officials stressed the gravity of the situation, emphasizing that in the face of a Russian ballistic missile assault on critical infrastructure, NATO might find itself defenseless, forced to absorb "punch after punch."
The U.S. military, according to the defense official, "definitely" lacks sufficient Patriots to counter a sustained ballistic missile attack in Europe.
Written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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