When Mike Obadal attended Exercise Valiant Shield at Camp Blaz, Guam on 29 June 2026, the US Army’s under secretary was confronting a stockpile problem shaped by conflicts far beyond the exercise ground. Obadal oversees the Army’s business operations, acquisition strategy, and manpower and personnel systems.
The Army faces unprecedented demand for precision munitions and for cheaper defensive systems. Demand for high-end munitions has surged during the conflicts in Iran and Ukraine, while militaries are also seeking cheap systems and interceptors in large quantities.
The pressure has built since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 and Israel began military operations in Gaza. The United States has since drawn down billions of dollars’ worth of weapons stockpiles, including artillery systems, ammunition and anti-tank missiles.
In August, Reuters reported that the United States had used up 'virtually all' of its long-range precision weapons during five months of fighting with Iran. An inspector general’s report in September said the Iran war had exposed 'strategic inventory shortfalls.'
The arithmetic of air defence shows why cheaper systems have become central to the debate. In the Middle East, a PAC-3 interceptor costing millions of dollars has been used against a Shahed-136 drone in a cost-per-kill ratio of 114-1.
The United States reportedly used more than two-thirds of its Patriot interceptor supplies in the Middle East. A global shortage of Patriot systems has left Ukrainian cities vulnerable to Russian strikes.
The demands extend to the Indo-Pacific, which remains ever-tense and continues to redefine stockpile demand. A CSIS report warned that the US would probably exhaust some types of long-range missiles after only a week of combat in a war over Taiwan.
The Pentagon has adopted a new policy intended to remove outdated acquisition procedures and move development to the battlefield more quickly. It is also seeking to replenish supplies after strikes on Iran and several other recent military efforts.
Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg is leading work on a supplemental budget request of around $50 billion to replace weapons used in recent conflicts.
The Trump administration planned to meet defence-industry executives, including those from Lockheed Martin and Raytheon parent RTX, at the White House to discuss faster weapons production. Raytheon, which makes the Tomahawk missile, has reached an agreement with the Pentagon to eventually raise production to 1,000 units annually.
The Pentagon currently plans to buy 57 Tomahawk missiles in 2026 at an average cost of $1.3 million each.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January aimed at identifying defence contractors considered to be underperforming on contracts while distributing profits to shareholders. In a social media post Monday, Trump said there was a 'virtually unlimited supply' of U.S. munitions and that wars can be fought 'forever,' and very successfully, using just these supplies.
Obadal, a former Special Operations officer who held Master Army Aviator status and qualifications in nine different aircraft before entering the private sector, is responsible for part of the Army machinery now being asked to turn demand into usable stockpiles.
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