Pacific Commander Raises Concerns Over Depletion Of Key Munitions

The use of high-end air defenses and other munitions in the Middle East and the supplying of Ukraine are affecting the readiness of the U.S. military in the Pacific so much that the top commander in the region is making his concerns public.

Adm. Samuel Paparo, the commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, says the supplying of Ukraine and ongoing combat operations in the Middle East were not a concern until this year. But now, increased operations in the Red Sea against Houthi targets coupled with the delivery of more high-end systems to Ukraine are lowering the Pentagon’s stocks of what he might need in a Pacific fight.

“Now with some of the Patriots employed, some of the air-to-air missiles employed, it’s now eating into the stocks. To say otherwise would be dishonest,” Paparo said during a Brookings Institution event Nov. 19.

For example, in April U.S. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro told lawmakers his service spent about $1 billion in critical munitions, including the first use of Standard Missile-3s, to down one-way attack UAVs and anti-ship ballistic missiles. The pace of operations has continued throughout the year.

The Pentagon’s stock of critical munitions is fungible across all combatant commands and can move quickly as needed.

“It imposes costs on the readiness of America to respond in the Indo-Pacific region, which is the most stressing theater for the quantity and quality of munitions because the [People’s Republic of China] is the most capable potential adversary in the world,” Paparo says. “We should replenish those stocks, and then some. I was already dissatisfied with the magazine depth. I’m a little more dissatisfied with the magazine depth. It’s time for straight talk.”

The Pentagon over the past two years has started a new initiative called Replicator, which seeks to add funding to procure small autonomous systems quickly with an eye on use in the Pacific. Over two tranches, the Pentagon has announced it would buy large numbers of systems such AeroVironment Switchblade drones, UAVs, uncrewed sea-surface vehicles and a new U.S. Air Force and Defense Innovation Unit program to develop low-cost cruise missiles.

The Replicator program builds on lessons learned in Ukraine, where low-cost drones have been critical in a relatively small, contested area in the war with Russia. But Paparo says that idea is not a direct connection to the Pacific, where air and maritime superiority over vast distances will be needed to allow forces, and bases, to survive.

“If you think that’s all of it and we can quit on everything else in the Pacific—how are we going to sustain everything else if we completely give up on air and maritime superiority in the Pacific?” Paparo says. “Oh, let’s quit on everything. We’ve got some drones. Well, [China’s] got 2,100 fighters. They’ve got three aircraft carriers. They’ve got a battle force of 200 destroyers. Oh, well, roger. We’ve got a couple drones.”