The Pentagon is pressing U.S. defense companies to accelerate weapons production as the military works to replenish munitions depleted during the ongoing war with Iran, The Associated Press reported Saturday.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told the AP that the Defense Department is focused on increasing munitions acquisitions to provide “the weapons our warfighters need at the pace the threat demands.”
Parnell confirmed that the Pentagon has taken steps over the past week to significantly accelerate the process, though he said the effort is part of a broader military modernization push that began before the five-month conflict with Iran.
Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg also sent a memo to defense industry leaders Wednesday giving them no more than 21 days to submit proposals for significantly faster delivery schedules or increased production of critical weapons, the AP reported, citing a memo obtained by The Washington Post.
“Years-long development cycles are not acceptable,” Feinberg wrote, according to the report. “We must dramatically accelerate our program schedules and expand our production capacity now.”
The push comes amid heightened scrutiny of U.S. weapons stockpiles following months of fighting with Iran. Recent combat has further depleted inventories of advanced missile interceptors, potentially increasing risks to U.S. forces if hostilities resume, according to an analysis cited by the AP.
President Donald Trump pushed back Thursday against reports that some U.S. weapons inventories have been severely depleted, declaring that the country has “massive amounts” of munitions and that additional weapons are being manufactured.
The Pentagon has similarly maintained that the U.S. military has the arsenal necessary to protect American forces and interests and conduct operations around the world. Exact figures for U.S. weapons stockpiles remain classified.
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