US Use of Costly Weapons Against Iran Tests Limits of Inventory

The US has a massive stock of easy-to-produce, air-dropped precision bombs — as President Donald Trump implied in a social media post this week — but has been using costly and less-numerous standoff weapons in its attacks on Iran, sapping supplies meant for more formidable enemies.

For instance: Opening salvos of the war included BGM-109 Tomahawks, slow but accurate cruise missiles with a range of more than 1,000 miles designed to hit targets deep in well defended territory.