US/Israel Used 3000 Missiles in First 36 Hours of War

More than 3,000 precision-guided munitions and interceptors were used in the first 36 hours of the US-Israeli offensive against Iran, revealing a major weakness in the supply chain.

Estimates by the Payne Institute indicated that Iran launched over 1,000 weapons across the region, including around 380 ballistic missiles, 700 Shahed drones, and 50 air defense missiles, prompting large-scale interception attempts by the US, Israel, and Gulf countries that have been targets of Iranian retaliatory attacks.

During the opening phase of the campaign, US forces used a wide range of offensive weapons, including 210 JDAM precision-guided bombs, 120 Tomahawk cruise missiles, 120 low-cost drones, and 90 AGM-88 anti-radiation missiles targeting Iranian radar systems.

Israeli forces also conducted extensive strikes, using about 280 Spice-guided bombs, 140 smart bomb kits, 70 Rampage supersonic missiles, and 50 Delilah cruise or loitering missiles, according to the estimates.

Defensive systems were also heavily used to intercept Iranian attacks. The US fired approximately 180 SM-2/SM-3/SM-6 naval interceptors, 90 Patriot PAC-2/PAC-3 missiles, and 40 THAAD interceptors, while Israel deployed 70 Iron Dome Tamir interceptors, 40 Arrow missiles, and 35 David’s Sling interceptors.

Regional partners also participated in air defense efforts, with Gulf states launching about 250 Patriot PAC-3 interceptors and 30 THAAD missiles, the estimates showed.

The intense exchange of missiles and drones underscored a broader strategic challenge, according to media reports. While defensive systems have largely intercepted incoming attacks, the cost and volume of munitions used are placing significant strain on Western supply chains.

Replenishing these arsenals is not only a financial challenge but also a supply-chain issue tied to critical minerals, including cobalt, tungsten, and rare earth elements that are essential for guidance systems, electronics, and rocket motors.

Many of these materials are sourced from limited suppliers, with China dominating several key mineral markets, raising concerns that prolonged conflict could expose vulnerabilities in Western defense manufacturing capacity. Anadolu

  • CrossFireArabia

    CrossFireArabia

    Dr. Marwan Asmar holds a PhD from Leeds University and is a freelance writer specializing on the Middle East. He has worked as a journalist since the early 1990s in Jordan and the Gulf countries, and been widely published, including at Albawaba, Gulf News, Al Ghad, World Press Review and others.

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    Held at the Refaat Alareer camp in the Al-Zawaida area, the event linked memories of the historic Palestinian displacement with the reality of the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza, as participants said the suffering of exile and forced displacement had never truly ended.

    The event was organized by the Sameer Project, a relief initiative led by Palestinians in the diaspora, and featured heritage performances, traditional dabke dancing and symbolic scenes highlighting Palestinian identity and the right of return.

    Women and children raised Palestinian flags, symbolic keys, and images reflecting displacement and attachment to the land. Several participants wore traditional Palestinian dresses and chanted songs and national hymns invoking Palestinian memory and what they described as an ongoing Nakba.

    Palestinians commemorate the Nakba every year on May 15 through marches, exhibitions and public events in the Palestinian territories and around the world, calling for rights, including the return of millions of refugees.

    The Nakba refers to the mass displacement of Palestinians in 1948 during the events surrounding the creation of Israel, when hundreds of Palestinian towns and villages were emptied and their residents forced to flee.​​​​​​​

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    She called on people around the world to show compassion toward Palestinians and support them amid their suffering.

    For Umm Mohammed Abdullah, the Nakba never ended.

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    “No matter how severe the suffering becomes, we will not leave our homeland,” she added.

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    The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) said Tuesday that the number of Palestinians worldwide has reached about 15.5 million, including 7.4 million living in historic Palestine.

    In a statement marking the 78th anniversary of the Nakba, a term used by Palestinians to mark Israel’s creation in 1948, the bureau said about 8.1 million Palestinians live in the diaspora.

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    The Israeli army has killed more than 72,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured over 172,000 others in a two-year offensive on Gaza since October 2023.

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