The Pentagon is demanding that the US defense industry increase production and supply of weapons, including ammunition, which is in short supply due to the war with Iran. American defense companies have been given 21 days to speed up these processes.
This is reported by The Washington Post, citing a memorandum from the US Department of Defense.
Deputy Secretary of Defense Steve Feinberg wrote that multi-year development and production cycles are “unacceptable”, and the industry must immediately increase production capacity.
The journalistsʼ sources added that also in late July, representatives of American defense companies were summoned to the White House for a meeting with President Trumpʼs chief of staff Susie Wiles, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other officials.
During the meeting, which was attended by representatives of Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, the manufacturer of autonomous weapons systems Anduril and the data analysis company Palantir, they were urged to directly lobby Congress for increased defense spending.
In the first month of the Iran war, the US fired more than 850 “Tomahawk” cruise missiles and more than 1 000 Patriot and THAAD interceptor missiles. The US also used more than 1 300 Army tactical ballistic missiles in the first weeks of combat. As of last week, the global stockpile of Patriot missiles had shrunk from 2 200 to fewer than 827, and THAAD missiles from 452 to fewer than 278.
However, the implementation of the Pentagonʼs plans currently depends on Congress, which has not yet approved the $1.15 trillion defense budget needed to fund new orders.
Missile shortage in the US
On August 4, Reuters reported that the US military had exhausted almost all of its stock of long-range missiles, including ATACMS, which Ukraine uses to strike targets deep inside Russia. CNN reported that the US military had used up almost 80% of its THAAD air defense system stockpiles.
It is precisely because of the depletion of reserves, WP sources say, that Trump has in recent days abandoned new large-scale strikes on Iran, although he promised "the largest attack since World War II".
The missile shortage is not just affecting US operations in the Middle East. Due to limited supplies from Western allies, Ukraine is also facing a shortage of missiles for its air defense systems, making it difficult to defend against Russian air attacks.
According to the publication, the US Presidential Administration is asking Congress to allocate another $67 billion to replenish military reserves after significant expenses in the war with Iran. However, the corresponding bill has not yet received support from lawmakers. The production of new missiles also takes time: some types of weapons, in particular missiles for Patriot complexes, can be manufactured up to two years.
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