US defence production shortfalls exposed by Iran war and Ukraine invasion, prompting allied supply network plans

Jang Won-joon, a defence science professor at Jeonbuk National University, said the war with Iran and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had made Washington acutely aware of shortfalls in its domestic defence production capacity.

The US burned through US$22.3 billion worth of ammunition in just four months of the Iran war, according to the Pentagon, putting its defence industry under scrutiny and exposing what critics call a structural problem.

Washington is now expected to build defence production networks with allies across the Indo-Pacific, including South Korea, Japan and Australia to help close the supply gap.