Gulf Conflict | Costly Interceptions and Swift Depletion of US Weapon Stockpiles - Trump to Meet Defence Suppliers

Udaipur, Mar 04, 2026: The US and Israel have jointly taken up a foe they are unable to silence. Iran has been resilient in its pursuit for vengeance after the US and Israel launched a cowardly attack on the Middle Eastern nation, even while talks and negotiations were in process. Iran's retaliation and continued persistence on attacking US military bases and consulates across the Middle East was something they were not expecting, especially after the killing of the Supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei.

US Administration to Meet Defence Suppliers

According to Reuters, a meeting has been called between the Trump administration and top US defence contractors, viz. Lockheed Martin and RTX among other. This goes to show that the US administration is concerned about the dwindling weapon reserves. As per Reuters, the meeting will be about accelerating weapons production as the US moves to replenish the fast depleting stocks.

Iran's Strategy and Costly Interceptions

As per the Bloomberg, Iran's is fighting with a hybrid mix of artillery - as costly as the ballistic missiles and as cheap as the one way UAV drones, intercepting both costing the US and Israel dearly. The US made Patriot air defence missiles cost around USD 4 million and are effectively intercepting the Iranian ballistic missiles and UAVs. However the cost of intercepting one UAV worth USD 20000 is costing the US USD 4 Million. The Patriot missiles have intercepted about 90% of the USD 20K Shahed drones and the powerful ballistic missiles as reported by Bloomberg. The cost of one such interception to the defender is USD 4million, while the drone that fails, costs Iran USD 20000 - the financial imbalance is more than apparent.

Media reports say that Qatar's stock of Patriot missiles might last for another 4 days and UAE even lesser. Both countries have countered that argument saying that they have enough stock. The UAE and Saudi operate the advanced THAAD system, which intercepts high speed missiles. Each THAAD system missile costs USD 12 million, making it even more expensive. US administration calling for a meeting with defence equipment suppliers as per Reuters, it is apparent that the stockpiles are depleting faster than expected. Iran's resilience is leading to urgency for the US and Israel, especially after their unwarranted adventure in Ukrain and Gaza respectively, which has drained Washington of billions of tax payers money.

Trump claims that the US has a virtual unlimited supply and can fight for ever, while the call for a meeting speaks otherwise. Even if the US has unlimited supply, can its current allies in the Middle East be as positive. Additionally, as per the interaction of a senior researcher with Bloomberg, Iran's attrition strategy makes operational sense. Iran is calculating that the defenders will exhaust their interceptors and will crack under pressure. This will put more pressure on the US and Israel to cease operations before they run out of drones and missiles.