The Pentagon is pressing the US defense industry to accelerate weapons production as recent fighting with Iran further strains diminished munitions inventories.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said Saturday that the department is focused on increasing acquisitions to supply weapons at the pace required by current threats, while describing the effort as part of a broader modernization drive that began before the five-month-old conflict.
Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg instructed industry leaders on Wednesday to submit plans within 21 days for faster delivery schedules or increased production of critical capabilities, according to a memo obtained by The Washington Post.
Parnell confirmed Saturday that the memo is genuine and said the effort will help shape the fiscal year 2028 budget submitted to Congress while supporting a push to rebuild the defense industrial base.
Earlier this month, the Defense Department reached an agreement with Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman to expand production capacity for missile defense components.
The drive comes as a defense spending bill remains stalled in Congress, where lawmakers are resisting a White House request to raise Pentagon spending to $1.5 trillion from about $900 billion last year.
A Center for Strategic and International Studies analysis estimated that Patriot interceptor stocks fell from 2,330 before the war to 1,030 by the April ceasefire and, after renewed fighting, to between 759 and 827, at least 65 percent below prewar levels.
THAAD inventories fell from 452 before the war to between 232 and 262 at the ceasefire, before recovering to an estimated 234 to 278, still at least 38 percent below prewar levels.
The analysis said reduced inventories could compel US forces and Middle Eastern allies to conserve air defenses, potentially increasing risks if hostilities resume.
President Donald Trump has rejected reports suggesting the United States faces a strategic disadvantage from depleted munitions, saying Thursday that the country has substantial supplies and additional weapons are being manufactured and delivered.
Experts cited in the source reporting warned that restoring Patriot and THAAD stocks to prewar levels could take at least three years with additional funding.