The Pentagon is stepping up pressure on U.S. defense contractors to rapidly increase weapons production and replenish depleted stocks of advanced missile interceptors amid concerns over the impact of the ongoing war with Iran.
The U.S. Department of Defense is seeking to accelerate ammunition procurement while significantly reducing delivery times for weapons needed by American forces on the battlefield.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said Sunday that the department is actively focused on increasing ammunition procurement so that weapons can be delivered to U.S. troops “at the speed of threat.”
Parnell said the Pentagon had taken significant steps over the past week to accelerate the process. He stressed, however, that the initiative was not solely a response to the five-month-old conflict with Iran but was part of a broader military modernization effort that had already been underway.
The push follows a memorandum sent Wednesday by Deputy Secretary of Defense Steve Feinberg to senior defense industry executives. According to the memorandum obtained by The Washington Post, companies have been given up to 21 days to submit plans for increasing production of critical military capabilities and substantially reducing delivery times.
Feinberg called for a “faster and more aggressive delivery schedule” for key military capabilities, saying years-long development and production timelines are no longer acceptable. He urged companies to dramatically accelerate existing programs while expanding manufacturing capacity.
The Pentagon’s move comes as the United States faces growing concerns over its stocks of sophisticated missile-defense weapons, which had already been under pressure before the latest fighting with Iran.
An analysis by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) warned that reduced inventories of Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors could create additional risks for U.S. forces and American allies in the Middle East if fighting resumes.
According to the analysis, U.S. forces could be forced to fire fewer interceptors against Iranian drones and missiles in order to preserve limited stocks. That could increase the possibility of Iranian weapons penetrating air-defense systems.
President Donald Trump has expressed anger over reports that U.S. weapons stocks have been declining. In a post on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump claimed that the United States has a “tremendous amount” of weapons and said large quantities were being produced and shipped to the country as needed.
Parnell confirmed Saturday that Feinberg’s memorandum directing the defense industry to accelerate production was genuine. He said the initiative would affect the budget proposal submitted to Congress for fiscal year 2028 and was consistent with the administration’s broader effort to rebuild the U.S. defense industrial base.
Funding, however, remains a major challenge. A defense spending bill is currently stalled in Congress amid disagreements over Trump’s military actions against Iran. Lawmakers have also pushed back against the White House’s request to increase Pentagon spending to $1.5 trillion, compared with roughly $900 billion last year.
CSIS estimates that the United States had about 2,330 Patriot interceptors before the conflict with Iran began. By the time the April ceasefire took effect, the number had fallen to between 1,030 and 1,070.
After renewed fighting with Iran, the stockpile declined further. CSIS estimated last month that the United States had between 759 and 827 Patriot interceptors remaining—at least 65% below the level recorded before the war.
THAAD interceptor stocks have also come under pressure. CSIS estimated that the United States had 452 THAAD interceptors before the conflict. At the start of the April ceasefire, the stockpile had fallen to between 232 and 262.
The United States subsequently replenished some THAAD stocks, bringing the estimated number to between 234 and 278. Even after those replenishments, however, the stockpile remains at least 38% below its prewar level.
The Pentagon now faces two major challenges: rapidly rebuilding stocks of advanced missile-defense weapons depleted by the conflict with Iran and expanding the long-term capacity of the U.S. defense industry.
Feinberg’s 21-day deadline and the administration’s push for faster production signal a growing effort to move the U.S. defense sector beyond traditional long-term production and procurement timelines and rapidly expand its capacity to meet potential future threats.
