The US Navy has been burning through interceptors fighting in Middle East conflicts, including the valuable SM-3. AdvertisementUS Navy warships have twice been called upon to defend Israel from massive Iranian ballistic missile attacks and have used SM-3 interceptors to defeat the incoming threats. But it's not just the SM-3 that the Navy is using up battling foes in the Middle East. In a short-range engagement, China's missiles wouldn't need to travel as high, and they would likely have shorter flight times and travel at slower speeds. And the number of Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles, long-range cruise missiles designed by RTX, being produced has decreased annually as well.

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Persons: —, RTX, Archer Macy, Fitzgerald, Bryan McGrath, it's, Yemen that's, Macy, Navy Carlos Del Toro, Del Toro, Jim Fein, Fein, Sen, Roger Wicker, Wicker, Bryan Clark, Burke, Laura Radspinner, Clark Organizations: US Navy, Service, Navy, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Combat, US, Iranian, Getty, Center for Strategic, Studies ' Missile Defense, Pentagon, The Heritage Foundation, Republican, Senate Armed Services Committee, Biden, Hudson Institute, Stout Locations: Middle East, China, Israel, Iran, Iranian, USS, Erie, Yemen, Gulf of Aden, Lake Erie