The U.S. Ministry of National Defense is pressuring its defense industry to swiftly ramp up production as stockpiles of ammunition and other weapons have plunged due to the war with Iran, the Washington Post (WP) reported on the 8th local time.
According to a Ministry of National Defense memo obtained by WP, Deputy Minister Steve Feinberg sent a letter to major defense contractors on the 5th, saying, "Increase deliveries of key capabilities and speed up delivery timelines, and submit plans within 21 days to expand production capacity."
Deputy Minister Feinberg said, "Development cycles that take years are unacceptable," and emphasized, "We must radically shorten program schedules and immediately expand production capacity." He then asked the industry to "present specific capital investment and facility expansion plans to support the Ministry of National Defense's continued bulk orders."
The guidance is notable because the weapons shortfall has been a source of tension between President Donald Trump and the Ministry of National Defense. According to WP, in the first month after the outbreak of the Iran war, the United States fired more than 850 Tomahawk cruise missiles and more than 1,000 Patriot and THAAD interceptor missiles. It also used more than 1,300 ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) rounds in the first few weeks of combat.
Recently, weapons stockpiles have been shrinking even faster. The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) estimated as of last week that the U.S. Patriot interceptor inventory had fallen below 827 rounds, and the THAAD interceptor inventory had decreased to about 2,278 rounds.
As weapons stocks reached a dangerous level, the U.S. Ministry of National Defense in recent months signed multiple agreements with large defense companies and startups to boost supplies of air-defense weapons. However, these agreements are not legally binding, and to become final contracts they require congressional budget approval.
Late last month, defense industry officials were invited to the White House to meet with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other key officials. At the meeting, company executives were asked to directly lobby lawmakers to expand defense spending, according to attendees.
Chief spokesperson Shawn Parnell of the Ministry of National Defense confirmed that Deputy Minister Feinberg's memo demanding the defense industry expand weapons production "does in fact exist." He said in a statement that the relevant items "will be reflected in the budget proposal for fiscal year 2028 to be submitted to Congress."