Hegseth denies CNN reports of depleted THAAD missile stockpiles

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth publicly rejected CNN reports that American armed forces had critically depleted their stockpiles of key missiles, calling the publication fake news.

The Pentagon chief’s response was prompted by a CNN story which, citing sources, claimed that the U.S. military had used approximately 80% of its missile stockpiles for the THAAD missile defense system. Hegseth responded to the reports on the social network X.

“That headline is not true, CNN. Shame on you. We still don’t hate fake news enough,” the Pentagon chief wrote.

CNN had previously also reported that the United States had used approximately half of its Patriot missiles and a significant portion of other precision munitions. According to several of the outlet’s sources, senior U.S. military leaders are warning that the Pentagon’s ammunition stockpiles are “dangerously low.” The significant expenditure of missiles may be linked to U.S. military operations in the Middle East.

U.S. authorities are meanwhile ramping up weapons production. The U.S. Army has signed a contract with Lockheed Martin worth up to approximately €50.9 billion for the production of interceptor missiles for Patriot systems.

In July, President Donald Trump’s administration asked Congress to allocate approximately €76 billion to fund “urgent needs,” the majority of which are related to the military campaign against Iran. U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Mike Waltz assured that the United States has sufficient resources to continue operations.