Pentagon gives defense contractors 21 days to accelerate weapons production

The effort to rebuild U.S. weapons inventories comes as a $1.15 trillion defense spending bill remains stalled in Congress.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

The Pentagon has ordered major U.S. defense contractors to produce plans within 21 days for sharply accelerating weapons production and deliveries after the conflict with Iran severely depleted American stocks of critical munitions.

Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg issued the directive to defense industry executives, demanding substantially shorter production timelines and rejecting development and manufacturing cycles that can take years.

The order focuses on replenishing and expanding supplies of key weapons and defense capabilities, including Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, interceptors.

Satellite communications and next-generation air defense systems are also among the Pentagon’s priorities.

The U.S. military used nearly 80% of key missile interceptors during the 2026 conflict with Iran, while approximately half of its Tomahawk cruise missile inventory was expended.

Stocks of long-range precision-strike weapons, including ATACMS and PrSM, were almost entirely depleted.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies estimated that the global inventory of Patriot missiles fell from about 2,200 before the war to fewer than 827.

The global THAAD inventory declined from 452 interceptors to fewer than 278.

The scale of the reductions has prompted the Pentagon to seek a rapid expansion of industrial production rather than rely on existing manufacturing schedules.

The Defense Department has also pursued framework agreements with major defense contractors and technology companies aimed at increasing weapons production.

Those arrangements, however, are nonbinding and require congressional funding before they can be implemented.

The effort to rebuild U.S. weapons inventories comes as a $1.15 trillion defense spending bill remains stalled in Congress.

The delay could affect the Pentagon’s ability to finance the rapid production increases it is seeking from manufacturers.

The Pentagon’s directive places particular emphasis on restoring inventories of advanced missile interceptors after sustained military operations sharply reduced available stocks.