Pentagon urges defence firms to fast-track weapons production after stockpile depletion
The U.S. Department of Defence is pressing American defence manufacturers to accelerate weapons production to replenish depleted munitions stockpiles, including those used during recent hostilities with Iran. The move comes amid concerns that key air-defence interceptors have been significantly reduced.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement on Saturday that the department was actively focused on boosting munitions acquisitions to provide “the weapons our warfighters need at the pace the threat demands.” He confirmed that department efforts over the past week had sought to significantly speed up the process, but insisted it was part of a broader modernisation effort that predated the five-month-old conflict.
Deputy Defence Secretary Steve Feinberg wrote to industry leaders on Wednesday, giving them no more than 21 days to submit plans to “drive significantly faster, more aggressive delivery schedules and/or increased production for critical capabilities,” according to a memo obtained by The Washington Post.
“Years-long development cycles are not acceptable,” Mr. Feinberg wrote. “We must dramatically accelerate our program schedules and expand our production capacity now.”
The memo comes as recent fighting with Iran used up more of the U.S. military's already diminished stockpiles of advanced missile interceptors, potentially putting American troops at greater risk if hostilities resume, according to a new analysis.
The analysis, from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington-based think tank, found that shrunken inventories of Patriot and THAAD interceptors may force the U.S. and its West Asian allies to take more risks to conserve those air defences. For example, American forces may launch fewer missiles against incoming Iranian drones and missiles, raising the chance of one getting through.
President Donald Trump has publicly disputed reports of a munitions shortage. In a social media post on Thursday, he said the U.S. has “massive amounts” of weapons, adding that “large amounts are being manufactured and shipped to the U.S. as needed.”
On Saturday, Mr. Parnell affirmed that Mr. Feinberg's memo seeking a rapid escalation of weapons production is “real,” adding that it “will inform the fiscal year 2028 budget submitted to Congress for funding, and it is entirely consistent with our ongoing push to rebuild the defence industrial base.”
A defence spending bill is currently stalled in Congress, with lawmakers questioning Mr. Trump's military action against Iran and resisting the White House request to substantially increase Pentagon spending to $1.5 trillion, up from about $900 billion last year.
According to CSIS estimates from last month, the number of Patriot interceptors fell from 2,330 before the conflict to 1,030 when the April ceasefire took effect. Following recent fighting, the stockpile is now estimated to be between 759 and 827, a decrease of at least 65% since before the conflict began.
The number of THAAD interceptors fell from 452 before the conflict to between 232 and 262 at the start of the April ceasefire. The U.S. was able to replenish some of the inventory to between 234 and 278 interceptors, but the stockpile is still at least 38% smaller than it was before the conflict.
