The Pentagon told industry leaders to “drive significantly faster, more aggressive delivery schedules and/or increased production for critical capabilities.” Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg said contractors have 21 days to submit plans on how they plan to achieve that. File Photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Jonathan Sunderman/U.S. Navy
Aug. 8 (UPI) — The Defense Department is pressuring U.S. military contractors to produce weapons and munitions “significantly faster” as the country’s stockpile dwindles due to the Iran war, it was reported Saturday.
In a memo obtained by The Washington Post, the Pentagon told industry leaders to “drive significantly faster, more aggressive delivery schedules and/or increased production for critical capabilities.”
Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg said contractors have 21 days to submit plans on how they plan to achieve that.
“Years-long development cycles are not acceptable,” Feinberg wrote in the Wednesday memo obtained by The Post. “We must dramatically accelerate our program schedules and expand our production capacity now.”
Multiple news outlets reported this week that the United States had depleted much of its stockpile of long-range precision missiles in Iran.
In just the first month of the conflict, the military launched more than 850 Tomahawk cruise missiles, alarming some Pentagon officials, The Post reported.
Officials have said the U.S. military has been launching the missiles faster than manufacturers can replace them.
President Donald Trump on Thursday dismissed the reports, saying the United States has “massive amounts” of munitions.
“Additionally, large amounts are being manufactured and shipped to the U.S. as needed,” he wrote on Truth Social. Defense companies are building the largest number of plants and factories in our country’s history.”
“The ‘leakers’ of these treasonous statements are being hunted down,” Trump added. “Long-term jail sentences will be sought!”
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the military “has everything it needs to execute at the time and place of the president’s choosing.”
“We have executed multiple successful operations across combatant commands while ensuring the U.S. military possesses a deep arsenal of capabilities to protect our people and our interests,” he added in a statement to CBS News.
