Trump says America’s weapons are ‘virtually unlimited,’ but his own generals just told Congress a very different story

US military officials have told Congress in a closed briefing that they cannot intercept every Iranian drone being launched, and the efforts to try are costing up to $2 billion a day in the initial stages. The warning came on Tuesday from top military officials, including General Dan Caine, the chair of the joint chiefs of staff, during a classified meeting with lawmakers.

Officials revealed that Iran has been deploying thousands of low-cost, one-way attack drones. While US defenses can take down the vast majority, officials admitted there is a limit, and some drones might get through.

According to The Guardian, these Shahed drones fly low and slow, which makes them better at evading conventional air defenses compared to faster ballistic missiles. Iran’s apparent strategy is to force the US to burn through its most expensive interceptors, like Patriot and THAAD systems, on these relatively cheap drones; a classic asymmetric warfare tactic.

The US is shifting strategy to target drone launch sites rather than just shooting them down

Because of this, the US is shifting its focus from air defense to destroying drone and missile launch sites as quickly as possible. This comes as Iran’s drone swarm tactics continue to challenge US defenses in ways that go beyond what was initially expected. A senior administration official downplayed Iran’s strategy, calling it “misguided and unsuccessful,” saying the US is using various methods to down the drones, not just the most expensive ones.

In the first days of the conflict, the US was reportedly spending around $2 billion each day to counter these attacks. That figure has since dropped to closer to $1 billion daily and is expected to fall further. Top Democrats in Congress have voiced concerns about the rate at which the US is going through interceptors, and General Caine acknowledged these concerns privately, though he publicly maintained a confident stance.

🇺🇸 The Pentagon estimates that the war on Iran is costing $1 billion a day, according to Nancy Youssef of The Atlantic.

— The Spectator Index (@spectatorindex) March 4, 2026

Speaking at a Pentagon news conference on Wednesday, General Caine stated, “We have sufficient precision munitions for the task at hand, both on the offense and defense,” without offering specific details.

President Trump also posted on social media on Monday night, saying the US could “sustain its rate of fire indefinitely” and that its stockpile of “medium and upper medium grade” munitions was “virtually unlimited.” 

However, he conceded that weapons at the “highest end” were “not where we want them to be.” Adding to the complexity, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards recently taking wartime control has raised concerns about a more dangerous chain of command going forward.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt elaborated on Wednesday, saying the US has more than enough weapons for an extended conflict with Iran. She clarified that Trump’s comment about “highest end” weapons was a criticism of the previous administration’s decision to send weapons to Ukraine. 

“We have weapon stockpiles in places that many in this world don’t even know about,” Leavitt stated. She added, “The president was pointing out that, unfortunately, we had a very stupid and incompetent leader in this White House for four years who gave away many of our best weapons for nothing.”

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