The US Department of Defense has officially admitted for the first time that there is a serious shortage in strategic ammunition reserves due to the “Epic Fury” operation against Iran.
Modern.az reports that this was stated in the first quarterly report published by the Pentagon's Inspector General regarding the campaign that began on February 28.
According to the document, military operations conducted between February 28 and June 30 cost the US $33.4 billion. Of this amount, $22.3 billion accounts for spent military ammunition, and $3.7 billion for lost military equipment.
The US Department of Defense's Office of Acquisition and Sustainment stated that the high consumption of ammunition on the battlefield created a deficit in strategic reserves and revealed serious problems ("bottlenecks") in the defense-industrial complex's ability to replenish this shortage.
It should be noted that previously, President Donald Trump and Pentagon chief Pete Hegset repeatedly denied information about an ammunition deficit, stating that the army had enough weapons. Nevertheless, on June 24, the White House requested an emergency additional funding of $87.6 billion from Congress, of which $67.1 billion should be directly allocated to replenish the Department of Defense's reserves.
