US missile stockpiles critically depleted; single-point failure risk in ammonium perchlorate supply chain

Summary

The article analyzes the critical state of US missile and munitions stockpiles, which have been significantly depleted due to involvement in global conflicts (Russia-Ukraine, Iran-Israel). It highlights that current supplies are estimated to be nearly an order of magnitude lower than during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and could be exhausted in as few as three days in a Pacific conflict involving China and Taiwan. A key vulnerability is the concentration of ammonium perchlorate (AP) production—a critical missile propellant ingredient—in a small number of facilities, creating a single-point-of-failure risk. The article details how specialized workforce pipelines, environmental permitting, and purpose-built equipment make rapid expansion or duplication of this supply chain extremely difficult despite decades of rhetoric about doing so.