Trump Holds Meeting with Major Defense Companies to Compensate for Weapons Stock Shortages Amid Escalation with Iran

SadaNews - The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump plans to hold a meeting on Friday at the White House with senior executives from the largest American defense contracting firms, to discuss accelerating weapons production and compensating for the stocks consumed during strikes on Iran and other recent military operations, Reuters reported today, Wednesday.

The meeting aims to urge arms manufacturers to quickly increase production, prioritizing supply security over profit distribution, as part of the administration's plan to enhance U.S. military readiness.

The meeting underscores the urgent need Washington feels to bolster its weapons stocks after the U.S. military operation in Iran consumed large quantities of ammunition.

Sources indicated that companies like "Lockheed Martin" and "RTX" are working with the Pentagon to refill stocks after consuming significant amounts of ammunition and missiles, including long-range missiles, drones, and F-35 fighter jets.

Trump stated in a social media post on Monday that there are "almost unlimited supplies" of U.S. munitions and that "wars can be fought 'forever' with great success using just these supplies".

One source mentioned that the White House meeting comes as Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Finberg leads Pentagon efforts concerning a supplemental budget request of around $50 billion, which could be obtained by Friday.

The new funds will cover the costs of replacing weapons used in recent conflicts, including those in the Middle East. This figure is preliminary and may change.

Efforts to increase production have intensified following the U.S. strikes on Iran, where the U.S. deployed Tomahawk cruise missiles and F-35 stealth fighters, as well as low-cost strike drones on Saturday.

Raytheon, the manufacturer of Tomahawk missiles, has reached a new agreement with the Pentagon to eventually increase production to 1,000 units annually.

The Pentagon is currently planning to purchase 57 of these missiles in 2026 at an average cost of $1.3 million per missile.

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and Israel's initiation of military operations in Gaza, the U.S. has consumed weapons stocks worth billions of dollars, including artillery systems, ammunition, and anti-tank missiles. The operations in Iran consumed longer-range missiles than those supplied to Kyiv.