Air & missile defense · U.S. Navy / Missile Defense Agency

SM-3

Standard Missile 3 (Block IB / IIA)

Ship-launched interceptor that hits ballistic missiles in space. At about $29M each it's the most expensive missile here, and the slowest to build.

Launched from: Aegis destroyers and cruisers · ~$28.7M each

Estimated leftDepleted

160–280

39–68% of ~410 before the war · as of Apr 8, 2026

At the opening campaign's pace (~5/day) that's 33–57 days of fire with no resupply.

EstimateCSIS, Apr 21, 2026(prewar minus reported use)

In blocks of 10

SM-3160–280 of ~410

left within the estimate's range used since Feb 28

Rebuild model

How fast does the stockpile come back? This projects it forward from the deliveries already in the pipeline and the FY2027 rebuild order, using the budget's own schedules. Move the sliders to test faster production or a renewed war.

Published estimates Projection Low–high range Prewar level

Starts from the newest estimate (Apr 8, 2026) and assumes no firing after it unless you add a renewed war. Fighting has continued at lower intensity since July 8, so treat projections from older estimates as optimistic. The default firing rate is the opening campaign's average: ~5 a day over 39 days.

Table view

Date	Low estimate	High estimate

Every estimate

As of	Claim	Source	Type
Jul 31, 2026	Statement Quote “about one-third of the initial inventory for the rest (JASSM, SM-2/3/6, and Tomahawk)”	CSIS Jul 31, 2026	Estimate
May 27, 2026	Statement Per CNN, citing DoD sources Quote “A CNN report citing DOD sources indicated that actual Standard Missile usage in Operation Epic Fury was closer to the lower-bound estimates in the CSIS munitions inventory study”	CSIS May 27, 2026	Reported
Apr 8, 2026	130–250 used Quote “SM-3 $28.7 410 130–250 64” Table 1 row. The range reflects uncertainty over allied intercepts and munitions mix.	CSIS Apr 21, 2026	Estimate
Feb 28, 2026	~410 before the war Quote “SM-3 $28.7 410 130–250 64” Table 1 row.	CSIS Apr 21, 2026	Estimate

Model inputs

Input	Value	Source
Unit cost	$28.7M	CSIS, Apr 21, 2026 Quote “SM-3 $28.7 410 130–250 64”
U.S. deliveries per year (recent average) Table 2: 40/yr Block IB plus 13/yr Block IIA ("SM-3 IIA 13 57 7 64").	53	CSIS, Apr 21, 2026 Quote “SM-3 IB 40 42 10 52”
FY2027 budget request 78 Block IB + 136 Block IIA.	214	CSIS, May 27, 2026 Quote “78 SM-3 Block IBs, 136 SM-3 Block IIAs, and 540 SM-6s”
FY2027 deliveries begin Assumes appropriations in October 2026, plus 37 months.	Nov 2029	CSIS, May 27, 2026 Quote “These orders will take between 36 and 39 months to begin deliveries once Congress provides appropriations.”
Months to deliver a full lot Table 2: production time for a full Block IB lot.	10	CSIS, Apr 21, 2026 Quote “SM-3 IB 40 42 10 52”
CSIS rebuild outlook	Early 2029	CSIS, May 27, 2026 Quote “inventories will not return to prewar levels until early 2029 despite the relatively low usage in the campaign.”