U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with executives from major American defense contractors. With the conflict against Iran approaching its one-week mark and no clear end in sight, concerns are mounting that weapon stockpiles are being rapidly depleted.
Trump will hold discussions with leaders from Lockheed Martin, RTX Corp., Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Honeywell International, and L3Harris Technologies Inc. The meetings aim to underscore the need to ramp up production of critical weapon systems, as ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine continue to draw down inventories. Earlier on Friday, Trump stated that no agreement with Iran would be acceptable short of unconditional surrender.
However, the White House has pushed back against concerns regarding strained ammunition supplies.
"The U.S. military possesses more than sufficient stockpiles of ammunition, artillery shells, and weaponry to continue degrading the Iranian regime and achieve the objectives of Operation Epic Rage," White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt said in a statement on Friday. "That said, President Trump has consistently prioritized strengthening military capacity, which is why this meeting with defense contractors was scheduled weeks in advance."
Prior to the onset of U.S. and Israeli airstrikes against Iran, Trump had repeatedly criticized major defense firms for spending too little on weapons production while allocating excessive funds to dividends and stock buybacks. As Iran-produced missiles and drones continue to target cities like Dubai and Doha in successive waves, the gap between supply and demand has widened, particularly for high-demand defensive systems such as Patriot interceptor missiles.
Levitt added, "The President will continue to urge these American companies to accelerate the production of U.S.-made weapons—which are unequivocally the finest in the world."
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