Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
The United States is burning through some of its most advanced munitions in its war with Iran this year. By some accounts, inventories of high-end Patriot and THAAD interceptors may be depleted by as much as 80 percent. Replacing them could take years, even as military planners worry about needs in Europe and the Indo-Pacific.
Tom Karako, director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Missile Defense Project, has tracked just how deep the shortfall runs and what it would take to fix it. He joined FP Live to assess the state of U.S. stockpiles and what it means about the future of American preparedness.
See more at at ForeignPolicy.com: foreignpolicy.com/live/tom-karako-america-munitions-depleted
0:00 Intro
2:20 Patriot missile systems
8:00 A changing munition landscape
14:24 What went wrong?
16:52 Increasing production
22:31 Lessons from around the world
28:25 The future of warfare
33:47 Trump's Iran math
On the go? Listen to FP Live as a podcast at link.chtbl.com/foreignpolicylivepodcast or wherever you get your podcasts.
FP Live is Foreign Policy's forum for live journalism that brings leading foreign-policy experts and thinkers together to analyze the world's biggest events. Visit foreignpolicy.com/live for the full conversation and more live journalism from Foreign Policy.
Subscribe to Foreign Policy's Youtube Channel: youtube.com/channel/UC1x_EgZtYkAzVavuONBrLZQ?sub_confirmation=1
Visit foreignpolicy.com to read the latest global news and analysis from FP.
Follow Foreign Policy:
X - twitter.com/ForeignPolicy
Instagram - instagram.com/foreignpolicymag
Facebook - facebook.com/foreign.policy.magazine
LinkedIn - linkedin.com/company/foreign-policy-magazine
TikTok - tiktok.com/@foreignpolicymagazine
The United States is burning through some of its most advanced munitions in its war with Iran this year. By some accounts, inventories of high-end Patriot and THAAD interceptors may be depleted by as much as 80 percent. Replacing them could take years, even as military planners worry about needs in Europe and the Indo-Pacific.
Tom Karako, director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Missile Defense Project, has tracked just how deep the shortfall runs and what it would take to fix it. He joined FP Live to assess the state of U.S. stockpiles and what it means about the future of American preparedness.
See more at at ForeignPolicy.com: foreignpolicy.com/live/tom-karako-america-munitions-depleted
0:00 Intro
2:20 Patriot missile systems
8:00 A changing munition landscape
14:24 What went wrong?
16:52 Increasing production
22:31 Lessons from around the world
28:25 The future of warfare
33:47 Trump's Iran math
On the go? Listen to FP Live as a podcast at link.chtbl.com/foreignpolicylivepodcast or wherever you get your podcasts.
FP Live is Foreign Policy's forum for live journalism that brings leading foreign-policy experts and thinkers together to analyze the world's biggest events. Visit foreignpolicy.com/live for the full conversation and more live journalism from Foreign Policy.
Subscribe to Foreign Policy's Youtube Channel: youtube.com/channel/UC1x_EgZtYkAzVavuONBrLZQ?sub_confirmation=1
Visit foreignpolicy.com to read the latest global news and analysis from FP.
Follow Foreign Policy:
X - twitter.com/ForeignPolicy
Instagram - instagram.com/foreignpolicymag
Facebook - facebook.com/foreign.policy.magazine
LinkedIn - linkedin.com/company/foreign-policy-magazine
TikTok - tiktok.com/@foreignpolicymagazine
