March 10, 2026

Iran’s Cheap, Plentiful Weaponry Puts U.S. Military Under Unprecedented Strain

By: Becca Wasser

This article was originally published in Bloomberg.

When the first cruise missiles began detonating inside Iran, the strikes had all the hallmarks of previous successful U.S. military campaigns — unstoppable, overwhelming force delivered without warning.

U.S. forces have been forced to dig deep into inventories of expensive, hard-to-replace interceptors to counter the Iranian barrage.

But as the conflict extends toward a third week, the U.S. war effort is showing unexpected signs of strain against an adversary whose military budget is smaller than the GDP of Vermont — but which has an arsenal of missiles and drones unlike anything the U.S. has ever faced.

Read the full article in Bloomberg.

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