PDB: US Military Racing to Replenish Depleted Munitions Stocks

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY — THE PDB — Not the President’s Daily Briefing, but almost as good — PAUL’S DEFENSE BRIEF.

The top defense news and intelligence from conservative national security expert PAUL CRESPO:

TOPLINE STORY

Donald Trump lashed out at reports U.S. is running short of key munitions in war with Iran, threatening long prison sentences for officials who leak information about military’s weapons stocks.

But few doubt there is a shortage. How U.S. squandered its strategic advantage. After five months of war with Iran, stockpiles of long-range weapons are so low, current and former U.S. defense officials say that they don’t believe U.S. has enough to combat threat in Asia.

Remaining supplies, depending on munition, are as low as 20% of what Pentagon would like. And stores of sophisticated interceptor missiles, such as Patriots and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missiles, are too depleted to give or sell the weapons to Ukraine or effectively defend against Iran’s launch of ballistic missiles.

U.S. used ‘virtually all’ long-range precision missiles during Iran war, raising concerns about military’s readiness for future conflicts.

So, the Pentagon is racing to buy 10X more missiles to ensure readiness for any China aggression. Army’s fiscal 2027 budget more than quadruples its PAC-3 MSE acquisition objective to 13,773 missiles.

EUROPE’S SOLAR ECLIPSE

On August 12, 2026, day will briefly turn dark as total solar eclipse crosses parts of Europe, marking continent’s first widely visible total solar eclipse since 1999.

HOMELAND SECURITY

Federal aviation officials are reviewing an air-traffic safety incident involving Marine One military helicopter carrying President Trump.

325 Narcan doses given, 43 lost children found: DC National Guard mission wraps first year. Nearly 9,700 troops from across nation have been shipped into Washington, D.C., for Trump’s “Make DC Safe and Beautiful” mission.

DEFENSE POLITICS

No more DEI hires. Under Hegseth, women’s share of top military promotions plunged this year. Percentage of high-ranking officer nominations going to women is currently at lowest level in over two decades.

North Carolina National Guard settled federal lawsuit with former guardsman who alleged service violated his First Amendment rights by blocking him on Facebook for criticizing its leadership.

New defense firms, venture capital and state industrial policy. When Anduril announced $910 million drone production facility in Ohio, main message came from Ohio’s governor. Members of Congress usually take substantial credit for defense industrial jobs, but Arsenal-1 was built near Columbus partially because of state subsidies.

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