Headline Roundup • March 28th, 2026
Heavy Use of Tomahawk Missiles in Iran War Raises Questions About Supply and Cost
Summary from the AllSides News Team
The US military has fired hundreds of Tomahawk cruise missiles during the war with Iran, raising concerns among some officials about stockpile levels and the long-term sustainability of high-cost precision weapons.
The Details: More than 850 Tomahawk missiles have been launched by US forces in roughly four weeks of fighting, according to The Washington Post (Lean Left bias). The pace of use is significantly higher than typical annual procurement levels. However, media reports pointed to some White House and Pentagon officials saying the military still has sufficient resources to meet operational goals. Reportedly, officials have been in discussion about increasing production and replenishing supplies. Tomahawk missiles are long-range precision weapons capable of striking targets more than 1,000 miles away. They are primarily used by the US Navy and are a key component of early strike operations.
Costs and Supply: Each Tomahawk missile can cost roughly $2 million or more, depending on the variant. The US maintains an estimated stockpile of about 3,000 missiles, but production and procurement rates are far lower than current usage levels. Defense contractors, including RTX Corporation, have agreements in place to increase production capacity in the coming years.
For Context: The war has highlighted a broader challenge in modern warfare: balancing expensive precision weapons against lower-cost threats. Iran has relied heavily on drones and missiles, many of which are cheaper to produce but still require costly interception systems. Despite this imbalance, US and allied forces have intercepted the majority of incoming threats, supported by layered air defense systems and regional coordination.
How the Media Covered It: Some media outlets covered reports about high interception rates, but differed in emphasis — one on supply and procurement, the other on cost dynamics and long-term sustainability. Fox News (Right) highlighted the broader cost imbalance in the conflict, emphasizing how cheaper Iranian drones and missiles are straining more expensive US and allied defenses. CBS News (Lean Left) focused on the pace of Tomahawk use and stockpile concerns, citing data and expert analysis on production limits.
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Featured Coverage of this Story
As U.S., Israeli and allied forces continue to intercept the vast majority of Iranian missiles and drones, a new report and expert analysis reveal a growing concern behind the headline success: the cost and sustainability of the defense itself.
More than 90% of Iranian projectiles have been intercepted during the war, according to a report obtained by Fox News Digital from the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA), thanks to a layered regional air defense system built during years of coordination.
U.S. Navy / Getty Images
The U.S. military has fired over 850 Tomahawk cruise missiles in four weeks of war with Iran, burning through the precision weapons at a rate that has alarmed some Pentagon officials and prompted internal discussions about how to make more available, the Washington Post reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The U.S. has so far used hundreds of Tomahawk cruise missiles against Iran, according to two sources familiar with the matter, several times more than the number procured for the military each year.
One of the sources said over 850 have been used so far in the conflict, a figure that is roughly nine times the number of Tomahawks the Pentagon buys on average each year. This number was first reported by the Washington Post.
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