Naval Operations Acting Chief Admiral James Kilby admitted that the U.S. is defending Israel at "an alarming rate" amid the Iran-Israel conflict following President Donald Trump's announcement of a ceasefire.
In a post on Tuesday on X, Fox News Chief National Security Correspondent Jennifer Griffin reported that Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) asked the Acting Navy Chief about the "large amounts of munitions" utilized in the latest round of conflicts in the Middle East to "defend Israel from Iranian strikes," specifically the use of Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) interceptors.
"Does the Navy currently have all the SM3s it needs for global threats?" Schatz said.
Acting Navy Chief warns US is using missile interceptors “at an alarming rate” in Mideast.
— Jennifer Griffin (@JenGriffinFNC) June 24, 2025
Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI): “The latest round of conflict in the Middle East utilized, large amounts of munitions to defend Israel from Iranian strikes. Does the Navy currently have all…
Admiral Kilby replied, "I'll take this. We do, sir, but we are, to your point, using them at an alarming rate."
"As you know, those are missiles procured by the Missile Defense Agency and then delivered to the Navy for our use," the Acting Navy Chief added. "And we are using them quite effectively in the defense of Israel."
The SM-3 is "an exo-atmospheric interceptor designed to neutralize short- and medium-range ballistic missile threats through direct kinetic impact, without the use of an explosive warhead. Developed by Raytheon on behalf of the MDA, the system employs a 'hit-to-kill' approach, which relies on direct collision to destroy targets."
Kilby later confirmed that "it was US Patriot missile batteries that shot down incoming Iranian ballistic missiles targeting the U.S. base in Qatar Monday."
Acting Navy Chief says it was US Patriot missile batteries that shot down incoming Iranian ballistic missiles targeting US base in Qatar Monday.
— Jennifer Griffin (@JenGriffinFNC) June 24, 2025
SEN JOHN HOEVEN (R-ND): “14 missiles, by Iran. Were they shot down by Qatar? Were they shot down by our forces? And by what systems?…
"14 missiles, by Iran. Were they shot down by Qatar? Were they shot down by our forces?" Senator John Hoeven (R-ND) asked. "And by what systems? To the extent you can cover any of that in non-confidential."
Kilby replied, "I can get you specific, sir, but I believe the Patriot system was the most effective U.S. system in support of that. Whether or not there was any Qatar defensive measures taken that were excessive. I'll have to get back to you on that."
When pressed by Hoeven, "So primarily, it was our Patriot batteries, sir," the Navy Chief responded, "Yes, sir."
The comments were made hours after President Trump blasted both countries for violating the ceasefire amid the ongoing conflict, according to RedState.
President Trump, before leaving the WH for NATO, reacts to the ceasefire being broken last night.
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) June 24, 2025
"These guys gotta calm down. It's ridiculous."pic.twitter.com/iTsrrj2d4o
Trump was on his way to the NATO Summit in the Netherlands when he went on an expletive-laced rant about the countries.
As Rusty Weiss reported:
Hours after the president announced a ceasefire between the warring nations, Israel accused Iran of violating it by launching missiles. They, in turn, planned retaliatory strikes on Tehran. Iran denied the missile launches, while Trump expressed frustration with both nations, particularly Israel, for undermining the fragile truce.
In a Truth Social media post early this morning, Trump demanded Israel turn their planes around and call off the counterattack.
"Do not drop those bombs," he wrote in all caps. "If you do, it is a major violation."
Speaking with reporters, Trump reiterated his displeasure with Israel attempting to retaliate, saying, "These guys gotta calm down. It's ridiculous."
"I didn't like plenty of things that I saw yesterday," added Trump. "I didn't like the fact that Israel unloaded right after we made the deal ... and I didn't like the fact that the retaliation was very strong."
"You basically have two countries that have been fighting for so long and so hard that they don't know what the f*** they're doing," he seethed. "Do you understand that?"
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