Missile makers agree to ‘quadruple’ production, Trump says
Defense companies have agreed to make four times as many missiles, President Donald Trump said Friday, denying reports that his war on Iran was quickly draining stocks of key munitions.
“They have agreed to quadruple Production of ‘Exquisite Class’ Weaponry in that we want to reach, as rapidly as possible, the highest levels of quantity,” Trump wrote in a post on his social-media network, Truth Social. No quantities, weapons, or timelines were specified.
The White House met with top defense contractors Friday to discuss production challenges with munitions as the U.S. closes out the first week of its joint war on Iran with Israel. BAE Systems, Boeing, Honeywell Aerospace, L3Harris, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and RTX attended the meeting, according to the post.
“Expansion began three months prior to the meeting, and Plants and Production of many of these Weapons are already under way. We have a virtually unlimited supply of Medium and Upper Medium Grade Munitions, which we are using, as an example in Iran,” and Venezuela, he continued.
Trump also said the U.S. has “increased orders at these levels,” but offered no more details.
The announcement comes after a week of war in the Middle East launched with U.S.-Israel joint strikes against Iran. Concerns about U.S. weapons stockpiles, the president’s ability to boost them, and long production times for missiles that cost millions of dollars each were raised before the strikes, with increasing fervor as the week went on.
For months, the White House has been pushing defense companies to increase weapons manufacturing. It has secured some commitments to boost production numbers. Lockheed Martin, for example, vowed to increase its output of THAAD and Patriot interceptors. RTX, which Trump previously criticized as a sluggish producer, announced several agreements in February to increase production in coming years AMRAAM, SM-3 Block IB, SM-3 Block IIA, SM-6, and Tomahawk.
When asked for comment on the results of Friday’s White House meeting, an RTX spokesperson pointed to last month’s announcement: “RTX is proud to support the administration’s goals of defending the U.S. and its allies at this critical moment and committed to accelerating the production of five key munitions in accordance with the historic frameworks reached with the War Department last month.”
A Lockheed spokesperson said the company began work months ago on its agreement to quadruple critical munitions production. “We are moving with urgency, and we will deliver.”
President Trump announced that U.S. defense companies have agreed to quadruple missile production amid ongoing military operations in Iran and Venezuela. This decision follows a meeting with major defense contractors to address production challenges. The U.S. has reportedly increased orders for various missile systems, including THAAD and Patriot interceptors, as part of efforts to bolster military capabilities during the conflict.
- Defense companies agreed to quadruple missile production.
- The meeting included major defense contractors like Lockheed Martin and Boeing.
- Production expansion began three months prior to the meeting.
- The U.S. has a virtually unlimited supply of medium and upper medium grade munitions.
- Concerns about U.S. weapons stockpiles were raised before the strikes.