Hegseth dismisses ‘foolish’ US stockpile concerns as Iran conflict tests munitions
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth dismissed concerns about strained weapons stockpiles outright, saying recent reporting has exaggerated the issue."The munitions issue has been foolishly, and unhelpfully overstated," Hegseth said during...
By Fox News · Fox News
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth dismissed concerns about strained weapons stockpiles outright, saying recent reporting has exaggerated the issue. "The munitions issue has been foolishly, and unhelpfully overstated," Hegseth said during a hearing with the House Appropriations subcommittee on defense Tuesday. "We have all the munitions needed to execute what we need to execute." Hegseth reiterated that stance during a recent congressional hearing, pushing back directly on claims that U.S. inventories have been significantly drawn down. "I take issue with the characterization that munitions are depleted in a public forum. That's not true," he told lawmakers. "Even in the conduct of the conflict, working with the chairman and Admiral Cooper, ensuring that any munitions we're using, we know what we're trading off of to preserve capabilities. So we have maximum optionality across the globe," he said, referring to chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine and Central Command chief Admiral Brad Cooper. US DRAINS CRITICAL MISSILE STOCKPILES IN IRAN WAR AS YEARSLONG REBUILD LOOMS The comments come as questions about U.S. weapons inventories have intensified following the Iran conflict and new analyses pointing to heavy usage of key munitions. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., said after a recent classified briefing that it is "shocking how deep we have gone into these magazines," pointing to heavy use of systems including Tomahawk cruise missiles, Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) and Patriot air defense interceptors. Hegseth responded by accusing Kelly of improperly discussing sensitive information, suggesting the former Navy pilot may have violated his oath. HEGSETH SAYS PENTAGON WILL REVIEW MARK KELLY'S PUBLIC STATEMENTS ABOUT CLASSIFIED BRIEFING AMID ONGOING FEUD "‘Captain’ Mark Kelly strikes again," Hegseth wrote on X. "Now he’s blabbing on TV (falsely & dumbly) about a CLASSIFIED Pentagon briefing he received. Did he violate his oath… again? @DeptofWar legal c…