Centcom commander ‘not concerned at all’ about munitions stockpiles

Adm. Brad Cooper, the commander of U.S. Central Command (Centcom), said he is “not concerned at all” about the U.S.’s munition stockpile amid reports that the Pentagon has depleted its stockpiles to fight Iran.

CBS News’s “Face the Nation” aired part of Norah O’Donnell’s interview with Cooper earlier on Sunday, where she asked if the munitions depletion during the conflict was a concern.

“I’m not concerned at all,” he replied. “We’re armed and ready for any contingency.”

O’Donnell noted that the U.S. has used 45 percent of its Patriot missiles and more than half of its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile supply before she asked if this worried him.

President Trump said earlier this month that the U.S. has “ virtually unlimited ” amounts of mid- to high-grade munitions and accused journalists reporting on the depletion of being “treasonous SCUM.”

“In addition, we are producing Munitions at levels never seen before. We are stockpiling and preparing for any contingency that could happen,” he wrote on Truth Social, adding that weapons sales to allies will resume “soon again.”

The U.S. and Iran have exchanged on-and-off strikes on each other as the conflict stretched into its seventh month. The conflict has put a strain on the Pentagon’s stockpiles of various long-range missiles, with the U.S. having an estimated 759 and 827 Patriot missile interceptors, down from 2,330 the day before in July, according to analysts at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)

The THAAD interceptor stockpile was also down from 452 before the conflict to between 234 and 278 on July 27, the CSIS also noted.

If Trump deployed an expanded airstrike campaign in Iran, the drop in munition quantity could force the U.S. military to lean more on piloted bombing missions .

The Pentagon also reached a deal last month with Northrop Grumman to increase production of THAAD and Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (PAC-3 MSE) interceptors. But industry experts have told The Hill and other news outlets that it will take a few years at minimum for the U.S. to rebuild its stockpile to pre-Iran war levels.

The conflict has seen both countries exchange fire in recent weeks, with Iranian media reporting Sunday that a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz was hit by an “ unidentified projectile ,” killing one crew member and injuring four more. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations organization also reported a vessel being struck in the strait.

Trump said he would not say whether U.S. forces were behind the attack. The Hill has reached out to Centcom for comment.