Unsustainable Firepower: The U.S. Navy’s Struggle to Maintain Missile Supremacy in the Red Sea

High Costs, Depleting Inventories, and Logistical Challenges Threaten Long-Term U.S. Naval Operations

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Vertical Launch Systems (VLS) operated by the United States Navy have reached critical limits in the expanding Red Sea military operations because of their essential roles for defensive and offensive missions. The stepped-up battle against Houthi militants backed by Iran in Yemen has resulted in massive missile expenditures that challenge US Navy supply and operational efficiency. The ongoing conflict has made the current operational readiness strategy highly unsustainable even when considering the potential switch to at-sea reloading procedures.

U.S. naval operations with guided-missile destroyers and cruisers throughout the region produce too much interceptor demand that cannot be supported by Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) and SM-6 interceptors. The expense of purchasing interceptors ranges from $10 million to $30 million per unit which creates an unnecessary heavy financial weight against the low-price Houthi drone and missile threat. The Pentagon faces mounting pressure over declining missile supplies because the present defense strategy shows weaknesses against increasing Chinese influence in…