Pentagon Pressures U.S. Defense Firms To Accelerate Weapons Production Amid Iran War Stockpile Concerns

The Pentagon has asked U.S. defense industry leaders to accelerate weapons production and delivery as American stocks dwindle during the ongoing war with Iran, according to a memo reported by The Washington Post and confirmed by Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell.

“Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg wrote to industry leaders on Wednesday, giving them no more than 21 days”

AP News

Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg wrote that leaders had no more than 21 days to submit plans to “drive significantly faster, more aggressive delivery schedules and/or increased production for critical capabilities,” and Feinberg added, “Years-long development cycles are not acceptable.”

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Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the effort was “real,” and 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 defense industrial base.”

The Hill also described how America’s depleted arsenal of long-range missiles and interceptors is constraining President Trump’s leverage with Iran, citing former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s warning that reduced stockpiles are “a dangerous moment for the United States to have these reduced stockpiles of key weapons.”

Multiple outlets tied the Pentagon’s push to depleted missile-defense inventories, with CSIS estimates cited by AP and The National Desk showing Patriot interceptors falling from 2,330 before the war to 1,030 when the April ceasefire took effect.

AP reported that Patriot stock is now estimated to be between 759 and 827 after recent fighting, while The National Desk said CSIS put remaining THAAD interceptors at roughly 234 to 278 and described the figures as estimates rather than an official, real-time Pentagon inventory.

Al Jazeera

The National Desk also reported that CSIS estimates returning heavily used weapons like Tomahawk, THAAD and Patriot to prewar levels will take three years or more under current production rates, framing a “window of vulnerability for several years” while inventories return.

In the same debate, The National Desk said President Donald Trump disputed the premise of dangerously low supplies, writing on TruthSocial that the U.S. has “massive amounts” of munitions and that additional weapons are being manufactured and delivered.

The Hill connected the depleted stockpile discussion to U.S. strategy toward Iran, saying the military’s supply of premium long-range missiles and interceptors is nearly exhausted after more than five months of airstrikes against Iran.

“The U.S. Army has used up “virtually all” of its surface-to-surface munitions”

The Hill

The Hill quoted former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta saying the shortage reflects “poor planning” by the Pentagon, and it also quoted Defense Priorities director Jennifer Kavanagh arguing Iran has “likely” known that U.S. munitions stockpile limits would be a constraint on kinetic options.

AP reported that a defense spending bill is stalled in Congress, with lawmakers fuming over 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.

Across the coverage, The Jerusalem Post said the Pentagon told industry leaders to prepare plans to “drive significantly faster, more aggressive delivery schedules and/or increased production” within 21 days, while Reuters-cited reporting in The Hill described how the U.S. TArmy has used up “virtually all” surface-to-surface munitions known as ATACMS and PrSM.