US Needs More Missiles to Shoot Down Missiles
The Navy has had to expend costly interceptors to knock out Iranian and Houthi threats. Congress should ensure its stocks grow bigger, not smaller.
Running low.
Source: US Navy/Getty Images
Months of combat in the Middle East have proved how central the US Navy’s missile defenses are to protecting assets and allies. The fighting has also offered yet another reminder of a serious and growing risk.
To fend off Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and Iranian ballistic-missile salvos against Israel, the Navy has fired off nearly $2 billion worth of munitions, including more than 100 Standard Missile interceptors. The rubric encompasses several variants, including Cold War-era SM-2s and more modern SM-6s, both of which counter threats in the atmosphere. More powerful SM-3s hit incoming ballistic missiles at longer range, while they’re still in space. Of those, older Block IB models cost nearly $10 million each, while the longer-range and more capable Block IIAs are nearly three times as expensive.