The US has postponed the delivery of Tomahawk missiles to Japan due to the conflict in Iran.

The conflict with Iran has depleted a large amount of US weapons, forcing Washington to delay the delivery of 400 Tomahawk missiles to Japan.

Military Watch reported on May 25th that the Financial Times recently revealed that US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth spoke by phone with Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi to inform him of the postponement of the delivery of Tomahawk missiles.

"The U.S. has informed Japan that the delivery of 400 Tomahawk missiles will be significantly delayed, possibly even by up to two years. This is considered bad news for Japan, as the country has spent $2.35 billion on these missiles and expected to receive the full shipment before April 2028," the Financial Times wrote.

According to Financial Times sources, Japan is not the only country affected by the issue of purchasing American weapons. Previously, Washington informed the UK, Poland, and several other European allies that their arms orders were also experiencing delays to varying degrees.

A simulated image of a Japanese destroyer launching a Tomahawk missile. Photo: USNI

Observers believe that the US delaying deliveries to close allies clearly demonstrates the extent of the Pentagon's exhaustion in the conflict with Iran.

The Washington Post reports that the U.S. Navy has used approximately 1,000 Tomahawk missiles in the Middle East, while its inventory only holds 3,000-4,500. In previous years, the U.S. Navy purchased only about 50 Tomahawk missiles annually. With such a slow replenishment rate, restoring the inventory after the depletion of thousands of missiles could take years, even if the U.S. increases production and reduces exports to allies.

In addition to Tomahawk missiles, the conflict with Iran has also depleted a large number of US Patriot, THAAD, SM-3, and SM-6 air defense missiles, as well as GBU-57 armor-piercing bombs and many other types of weapons. Some of these weapons are in even more severe shortages than the Tomahawk, leading to concerns about the US military's ability to maintain high-intensity combat capabilities in the future.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/my-hoan-giao-ten-lua-tomahawk-cho-nhat-ban-vi-xung-dot-iran-2519334.html