Pentagon pushes U.S. arms makers to speed up weapons output as Iran war strains stockpiles
The Pentagon’s No. 2 official has urged major U.S.
The Pentagon’s No. 2 official has urged major U.S. defense companies to move faster on weapons production as Washington faces fresh warnings about stockpile gaps and shortages tied to the war with Iran.
Steve Feinberg, the deputy secretary of defense, told defense contractors to accelerate delivery of key systems, including wide-area surveillance, air-defense sensors and interceptors, and missile-tracking systems. The request landed in an Aug. 5 letter sent to major companies such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin and RTX, according to a report seen and first reported earlier.
Pressure on production lines
Feinberg’s message was blunt. “Years-long development cycles are not acceptable,” he wrote. “We must dramatically accelerate our program schedules and expand our production capacity now.”
The push comes as the U.S. military continues attacks on Iran and works to repel drone and missile strikes on American bases in the region. That campaign has fed growing concern inside and outside the Pentagon about whether U.S. weapons inventories can keep up with the pace of operations.
Shortages. Gaps. Same problem, sharper now.
Trump denies shortages
President Donald Trump has rejected the idea that the U.S. is running short of munitions. On Thursday, he said the country had “massive amounts” of them and warned of punishment for people who say otherwise.
Even so, the administration’s tone appears more urgent inside the defense establishment. Feinberg’s appeal makes clear the Pentagon wants industry to move faster, not later, on programs it sees as critical to military readiness.
The letter singled out systems that can spot threats sooner and hit them faster, a sign the Pentagon is focusing on air and missile defense after weeks of fighting that have tested U.S. supply lines and interception capacity.
For the country’s biggest defense contractors, the message is straightforward: build more, deliver sooner. The Pentagon wants plans now.
