US Patriot missile shortage in Europe ‘beyond critical’ due to Iran war, officials say

In the event of a Russian ballistic missile assault, Nato could be forced ‘to take punch after punch in the mouth’

The US military is experiencing a “beyond critical” shortage of advanced missile interceptors in Europe largely driven by US President Donald Trump’s war with Iran, an American defence official in Europe and a Nato official said, raising concerns about vulnerabilities in Nato countries to a potential Russian attack.

The US defence official said the most concerning shortfall involves Patriot missile interceptors, which can shoot down Russia’s high-speed ballistic missiles.

The Nato official confirmed the low inventories of Patriots among American and Nato forces in Europe. Both spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters.

In the event of a Russian ballistic missile assault on, for example, a military headquarters or power plant, Nato could be in a similar position to Patriot-starved Ukraine and be forced “to take punch after punch in the mouth”, the US defence official said.

In Europe, the American military “definitely” does not have enough Patriots to stop any possible sustained ballistic missile attack and would have “very limited” capability to defend against a single ballistic missile strike or a stray Russian missile that goes off course, the US official said.

It illustrates the cascading fallout from Trump’s decision to launch a war against Iran, a conflict that reaches the six-month mark on Friday.