Why the U.S. military is letting some Iranian projectiles through its defenses

U.S. military commanders have been picking and choosing which Iranian missiles and explosive-packed drones to intercept and are allowing some attacks through their defenses, amid an effort to preserve the Pentagon’s diminishing supply of weapons that block projectiles from reaching their targets, two senior U.S. officials told NBC News.

Military commanders have opted not to expend munitions if they determine an Iranian projectile won’t hit American forces, significantly damage critical U.S. facilities or threaten allies in the region, the officials said. The strategy has been in place since the early days of the war.

Efforts to preserve defensive munitions, such as picking and choosing whether to shoot down certain projectiles, are typical for the military. But the strategy has taken on new significance as the Iran war enters its fifth month and concerns about the U.S. munitions stockpile mount. NBC News has previously reported that the war has contributed to a significant shortage in the Pentagon’s supply of interceptors as well as missiles.

The result of the strategy, the sources said, is that some Iranian attacks make impact, particularly those that are on track to miss their intended targets, inflict minimal damage by striking an abandoned building or hit areas where there are no U.S. troops.

The U.S. officials said there also have been times when the U.S. military has allowed some Iranian missiles and drones to strike U.S. bases as long as Americans are not present. That is a departure from past practice, the sources said, where typically drones or missiles that threaten to hit bases would be shot down.

The two senior U.S. officials were not aware if any Iranian projectiles that commanders chose not to intercept resulted in harm to U.S. troops or other civilians. But, they said, the strategy is not without risk.

U.S. troops who specialize in air and missile defense are trained not to waste precious interceptors if their analysis of a missile or drone’s trajectory shows it will land in a body of water or not affect a populated area, one of the U.S. officials said. In those scenarios, troops will typically allow projectiles to make impact in an empty area or body of water.

At the same time, the strategy has helped the Pentagon preserve critical defensive munitions as it is running out of money and as its leaders ask Congress for additional funding to replenish supplies. U.S. interceptors can cost several million dollars apiece.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told lawmakers during a hearing Tuesday that most of the department’s $67 billion request for supplemental funding through Oct. 1 would be to expand production and accelerate the delivery of various types of munitions. “We’re talking about solid rocket motors, JDAMs [Joint Direct Attack Munitions], hypersonics and counter-drone capabilities,” Hegseth said.

During a congressional hearing in May, Hegseth denied that the U.S. had a shortfall of munitions. “The munitions issue has been foolishly and unhelpfully overstated,” Hegseth said. “We know exactly what we have. We have plenty of what we need.”

Trump administration officials have said the military has plenty of munitions and has no readiness concerns, though last month Trump used his executive authority to force defense companies to produce more weaponry.

Since the war began, Iran has launched between 8,500 and 8,800 missiles and attack drones — which the military refers to as projectiles — according to two U.S. officials. Of those, it’s unclear how many the U.S. military has intentionally let through U.S. defenses.

Both of the U.S. officials said Iranian missile attacks are generally less successful than more sophisticated American missile capabilities and often miss their targets.

NBC News reported in May that the Pentagon had not inked any new contracts with defense companies to build new missiles or interceptors despite concerns that the war had begun to deplete its stockpiles. Other steps the Pentagon has taken to preserve weapons include shifting munitions to U.S. Central Command from other combatant commands, such as Indo-Pacific Command, or other stockpiles.

A former U.S. official called the military’s strategy of picking and choosing which Iranian attacks to intercept an example of “thinking creatively.”

Despite heavy U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran since February, and daily U.S. military action in the country for the past nearly two weeks, Iran still retains missiles and drones that have taken a toll.

In recent days, Iranian attacks killed four U.S. service members and injured as many as 100 in the region, according to the Pentagon.

American bases in the Middle East have seen significant destruction since the war began Feb. 28, especially the Navy’s headquarters in the region, in Bahrain, and Army bases in Kuwait. Destruction has also been reported in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Iraq. The price tag for repairing the damage is expected to be billions of dollars, with the cost of the overall war estimated at as much as $100 billion.

The U.S. military moved thousands of troops off its bases in the Middle East and even out of the region months ago, and most of those troops have not yet returned in part because of the damage to bases and to minimize the number of service members exposed to ongoing Iranian attacks.

The U.S. has said it has more than 50,000 troops in the Middle East and is only keeping the most critical or necessary personnel on its military bases in the region.