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💢 BREAKING: The Trump administration has quietly approved $17 billion in Patriot interceptor missile sales to Kuwait ($9.3B), the UAE ($6.25B), and Bahrain ($1.625B), all without public announcement, the New York Times reports today citing State Department and congressional officials.
▪️The three orders amount to roughly 4,250 missiles total, based on a per-unit cost of approximately $4 million. A separate $4 billion Qatar order — around 1,000 additional interceptors — was also authorized last Friday, bringing total U.S. arms sales authorized that day to approximately $25.7 billion, as opposed to the $8 billion publicly announced. It is not clear when these missiles will be delivered.
▪️The sales come as stockpiles have been severely depleted. Since the war began Feb. 28, the U.S. and Gulf states have together fired nearly 1,900 Patriot interceptors (US:1300, Gulf allies: 600) close to three years of current production.
▪️The Washington Post reported Wednesday the U.S. military had burned through at least 53% of its THAAD interceptors and 43% of its Patriot interceptors since the war began. According to a recent analysis by CSIS, Patriot depletion ranges from roughly 45% to 61% of pre war inventory of 2,330 missiles. THAAD depletion ranges from roughly 53% to over 80%.
▪️American manufacturers currently produce just over 600 Patriot missiles per year. The administration has announced plans to raise that to 2,000 annually, but the increase will take time.Most reporting says the buildup will take roughly seven years.
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