WASHINGTON, August 24 (HS/RIA Novosti) - The US military will receive new THAAD missiles, the stockpiles of which were depleted in the conflict with Iran, only in the spring of 2027, according to Pentagon documents seen by RIA Novosti.

In early August, media reported citing defense sources that the United States had used up nearly 80% of its pre-conflict THAAD interceptor stockpiles during the military operations against Iran.

Initially, the delivery of a batch of 39 missiles was scheduled for launch in February 2025. However, later Pentagon documents pushed the deadline to April 2027.

The contract with defense contractor Lockheed Martin for this batch (Lot 13) was awarded in March 2022. According to updated data, interceptor production takes just over five years, and the entire procurement cycle takes 6.5 years, RIA Novosti revealed.

The last THAAD missiles for the US military were delivered in July 2023. The Pentagon explained that after the completion of Lot 12, production capacity was occupied by export orders, so the next batch for the US was scheduled for a later date.

Starting in fiscal year 2027, the THAAD program will be transferred from the Missile Defense Agency to the US Army. At the same time, the Pentagon plans to purchase an additional 830 interceptors for $10.5 billion and increase production capacity.

Currently, the maximum THAAD production capacity is eight missiles per month, or up to 96 per year.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Indrani Sarkar