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submitted 4 days ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world

The rate at which the U.S. military has used the Tomahawk missiles in the Iran war has reportedly prompted internal talks about increasing supplies

Some Pentagon officials are concerned about the “alarmingly low” supply of Tomahawk missiles remaining in the U.S. military’s arsenal after firing 850 of the weapons into Iran, according to a report.

The rate at which the U.S. military has used the Tomahawk missiles in President Donald Trump’s war in Iran, now in its fourth week, has prompted internal talks about increasing supplies, according to The Washington Post.

U.S. officials told the newspaper that the number of Tomahawks left in the Middle East was “alarmingly low.” Another official told the outlet that the U.S. supply of Tomahawks was closing in on “Winchester,” military slang that means almost out of ammunition.

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[-] theblurstoftimes@leminal.space 25 points 3 days ago

This is like when a noob uses a cheat code at the beginning of the game and still loses

[-] TwinTitans@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago

Invincibility cheat and then walk off the edge of the map so it doesn’t matter 🤣

[-] kreskin@lemmy.world 12 points 3 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

those are about 3 million each, in pre trump funds. Looks like tax paying Americans will all be emptying or wallets and cutting services to replace those now too. I hope Israel is happy with us and sends our politicians a tiny fraction of that amount in bribes.

Btw only 9000 tomahawk missiles have ever been produced in the 43 year lifespan of the tomahawk program, and at top speed we can produce 600 a year. We usually make up to 90 a year. We reportedly had between 3-4000 in our inventory.

[-] anugeshtu@lemmy.world 13 points 2 days ago

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a gun nut or at all pro war, but why do they produce multimillion dollar missiles consisting of metal, fuel and explosives for that much for a one-way use instead of using that money to prevent wars? Well, call me a sweet summer child.

[-] vaultdweller013@sh.itjust.works 7 points 2 days ago

Tomahawk missiles are meant to be used for high precision strikes, they're basically the missile equivalent of a 50. cal sniper loaded with AP-I rounds which is to say explosive but deadly if you want someone or something annihilated. Problem is they're using them like artillery or maybe a V-1 so of course it's gonna be fucking expensive for no reason, to go back to my previous analogy it's like using said sniper and ammo to hunt squirrels.

[-] quips@slrpnk.net 6 points 2 days ago

This is what scares me in a true protracted war with China. Imagine their production capacity. Even if our weapons are better, does it make a difference if they can build them 10x faster at 90% the efficacy?

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[-] Gork@sopuli.xyz 96 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Raytheon salesmen would like to know your location

[-] FinishingDutch@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago

It’s so silly. Those were made to be used ‘surgically’: to hit specific high value targets at extended range while minimising collateral damage. If you feel the need to use 850 of them, you’ve chosen the wrong weapon system: at that point, you should be flying B52’s over whatever you want to hit. Or turn Tehran into a glass parking lot.

[-] hanrahan@slrpnk.net 3 points 2 days ago

who males the Tomahawk and are Trump's kids long that stock?

[-] sturmblast@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

Raytheon (RTX Corp)

[-] ceenote@lemmy.world 84 points 4 days ago

They're starting to look like a waste of money that we should not replenish.

[-] FenrirIII@lemmy.world 23 points 3 days ago

That's sounds very unpatriotic, citizen. Are you a dirty commie?! /s

[-] LoafedBurrito@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

Sounds like Nextdoor.

[-] wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz 15 points 3 days ago

Those could have been used against russia to defend Ukraine...

[-] Smoogs@lemmy.world 20 points 3 days ago

Right… that’s the concern here… dwindling supplies.

[-] ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca 12 points 3 days ago

Imagine a world where the US ran out of bombs.

[-] zbyte64@awful.systems 4 points 3 days ago

What did the US say at the end of the war? Iran out of bombs.

[-] j_elgato@leminal.space 35 points 3 days ago

Jesus... How many schools did they have??

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[-] itisileclerk@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago

Now they will print more dollars to buy some more Tomahawks and the world will bet on that dollar again. When it does this shit (USA) will collapse fast.

[-] merc@sh.itjust.works 43 points 4 days ago

So, apparently there's a term that's used in the defence industry for advanced, extremely capable, very expensive weapons: "exquisite weapons". This sounds like something out of a fantasy RPG, but it's actually the term they use in the industry to talk about these things, the Tomahawk being one of them.

So, while Iran is hitting various sites around the middle east with machines that cost about the same as a small car and are built in a basic factory, the US is spending 100x as much, building missiles in special high-tech factories using clean rooms and high end robots. Not only that, but the weapons the US is using to intercept Iran's drones cost about 100x as much as the drones they're shooting down.

[-] TheDemonBuer@lemmy.world 30 points 4 days ago

We have too damn much money and not nearly enough brains.

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[-] jabberwock@lemmy.dbzer0.com 12 points 3 days ago

Hey now, the US has its own low-cost drone reverse engineered from an Iranian one-way attack drone.

Does that mean they'll stop building Tomahawks? Of course not, now two companies can benefit instead of one. That's 2x the military-industrial complex baby!

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[-] billybob@lemmy.zip 7 points 3 days ago

Are they doing this so they have an excuse not to help Taiwan next year?

[-] krisevol@lemmus.org 5 points 3 days ago

If china get Taiwan the US is going into the stone age overnight. No president is trying to avoid this, both parties want to protect Taiwan.

[-] Bieren@lemmy.today 4 points 3 days ago

Not after musk gets his super duper mega chip factory running.

[-] CaptainSpaceman@lemmy.world 4 points 3 days ago

And what does Krasnov's boss want?

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[-] metakrakalaka@lemmychan.org 24 points 3 days ago

AI says these cost $1.3 million each on the low end.

That's at least another billion dollars wasted on Israel that could've been spent helping Americans.

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[-] SaltSong@startrek.website 46 points 4 days ago

Wait, how many of those do we have? I'd expect us to have at least 10,000 given how we are supposed to be the bastion of goddamn freedom. Can hardly claim to be the stalwart defender of democracy if we don't have enough ammo for at least a month.

And if we don't have ammo, maybe we shouldn't be starting wars with nations that have a military.

[-] Zron@lemmy.world 85 points 4 days ago

The pentagon has been dodging audits like fucking Neo for over 50 years.

I have a hunch that a good chunk of that trillion dollars they get every year just kind of evaporates. You know, you order 8,500 tomahawks from your Raytheon buddy, he sends 850 and pockets the difference. No one questions it because surely we’re not going to get into an extended ground conflict so who’s gonna notice.

We’re probably just like the Russians, just with better advertising and fresh paint.

[-] CapuccinoCoretto@lemmy.world 29 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

~~And if we don't have ammo, maybe~~ we shouldn't be starting wars ~~with nations that have a military.~~

FTFY.

[-] SaltSong@startrek.website 2 points 1 day ago

A good point.

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[-] JensSpahnpasta@feddit.org 16 points 3 days ago

That really is the best opportunity for China to take Taiwan. Wait a little bit longer until stockpiles are empty and ground troops are deployed and then strike while the USA is occupied

[-] BillCheddar@lemmy.world 14 points 3 days ago

Why would China bother?

China is about to become what America was: #1 country, #1 economy, with oil traded in their currency, with resources available across the globe.

China's investments in Trump are about to pay off huge.

Why fuck with a winning hand by invading a small island when they can just keep doing what they're doing, and let Taiwan make semiconductors for China, and collect all the benefits of being Top Dog?

[-] jellygoose@lemmy.ca 9 points 3 days ago

Already kinda is, it feels like.

I’m Canadian; most people here seemed extremely happy to see our PM in China making actual deals and opening up trade.

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[-] Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works 6 points 2 days ago

Taiwan might be asking to join China to protect itself from perceived American aggression at this rate.

[-] Asfalttikyntaja@sopuli.xyz 7 points 3 days ago

This is exactly from a book of Sun Zu, sit back and watch your enemies fight with each other’s and you will win without shooting a single shot.

[-] T00l_shed@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

Do not interrupt your enemy while they are making a mistake

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[-] Assassassin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 30 points 4 days ago

Per the Wikipedia article nuclear weapons of the United states:

The US holds in total 5,177 warheads, of which 3,700 are stockpiled, and 1,477 are awaiting dismantlement. Of the stockpile, 1,770 are deployed, while 1,930 are held in reserve.

Do we seriously have more nukes than tomahawks??? This reporting has to be incorrect.

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[-] lithiumground@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago

USA has nothing more than Money and resource. that is perfectly fine. Anyway American taxpayer will prever to stay hungry but keep feed the army

[-] azureskypirate@lemmy.zip 13 points 3 days ago

They bombed a bunker months ago, now there's a bunch of tomahawk missles deployed; Is The Dept. of War getting ideas from Top Gun: Maverick? /s

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[-] anon_8675309@lemmy.world 15 points 3 days ago

That’s what, 2.5 billion taxpayer dollars. For a war taxpayers don’t want.

Fuck Trump.

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this post was submitted on 27 Mar 2026
422 points (98.4% liked)

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