Range of Iran's missiles. Credit: IDF
March 21, 2026
By Kjeld Neubert
(EurActiv) — Global air defence stockpiles are “empty or nearly empty” due to the US-Israeli war against Iran, the CEO of the German defence giant Rheinmetall said this week.
Following initial strikes by the US and Israel, Iran retaliated by expanding the war to its neighbours, hitting Gulf countries that host US bases. The number of missile barrages quickly raised concerns about how long critical air defence supplies can last.
Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger told CNBC that if the war continues for another month, he believes that “we nearly have no missiles available.”
“I think that at the moment, all European, American, and also Middle Eastern stocks are empty or nearly empty,” he assessed.
Iran’s use of both missile barrages and cheap long-range drones forced countries in the region to defend themselves with a huge amount of costly interceptors.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the US approved arms sales, including air defence systems, worth almost €20 billion to United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Jordan on Thursday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently noted that the US and its allies had used more Patriot interceptor missiles during the first few days of the war against Iran than during four years of war in Ukraine, and each of those costs several million dollars.
The lesson learned, according to Papperger, are that drones are a new very cheap way to exhaust the opposing side’s air defence systems.
US president Donald Trump said shortly after the war that the US has “virtually unlimited” amounts of missiles. Israeli officials claim that they are also not concerned.
In the meantime, the European Commission is exploring “new policy instruments” to support the European defence industry in expanding its production capacity, including by stockpiling ammunition.
March 21, 2026
By Kjeld Neubert
(EurActiv) — Global air defence stockpiles are “empty or nearly empty” due to the US-Israeli war against Iran, the CEO of the German defence giant Rheinmetall said this week.
Following initial strikes by the US and Israel, Iran retaliated by expanding the war to its neighbours, hitting Gulf countries that host US bases. The number of missile barrages quickly raised concerns about how long critical air defence supplies can last.
Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger told CNBC that if the war continues for another month, he believes that “we nearly have no missiles available.”
“I think that at the moment, all European, American, and also Middle Eastern stocks are empty or nearly empty,” he assessed.
Iran’s use of both missile barrages and cheap long-range drones forced countries in the region to defend themselves with a huge amount of costly interceptors.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the US approved arms sales, including air defence systems, worth almost €20 billion to United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Jordan on Thursday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently noted that the US and its allies had used more Patriot interceptor missiles during the first few days of the war against Iran than during four years of war in Ukraine, and each of those costs several million dollars.
The lesson learned, according to Papperger, are that drones are a new very cheap way to exhaust the opposing side’s air defence systems.
US president Donald Trump said shortly after the war that the US has “virtually unlimited” amounts of missiles. Israeli officials claim that they are also not concerned.
In the meantime, the European Commission is exploring “new policy instruments” to support the European defence industry in expanding its production capacity, including by stockpiling ammunition.
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