The U.S. Department of Defense is pushing defense contractors to speed up weapons production and deliveries amid severe ammunition shortages as a result of the conflict with Iran, a U.S. media reported on Saturday, citing a Defense Department memo.
According to the memo, Deputy Secretary of Defense Steve Feinberg wrote to leaders of defense contractors on August 5. He demanded that the firms submit plans within 21 days to drastically speed up weapons deliveries and expand production capacity for key military hardware. Feinberg also asked the contractors to lay out specific plans for capital investment and facility expansion to break years-long development timelines.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed the authenticity of the memorandum, the report added. It also said that people familiar with the matter revealed that the ammunition shortages have created tension between U.S. President Donald Trump and the Department of Defense.
Analysis data from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) shows that by early August, the global inventory of Patriot missiles fell from 2,200 before the outbreak of hostilities with Iran to fewer than 827 units. THAAD missile stockpiles dropped from 452 to less than 278.
Earlier on August 4, another U.S. media outlet reported that since the start of the U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict, U.S. forces have consumed nearly four-fifths of its THAAD missile inventory and roughly half of its Patriot missile stockpile. Almost half of the Tomahawk cruise missiles for long-range strikes have also been expended. A senior U.S. military commander warned that the Pentagon’s ammunition reserves have fallen to "dangerously low levels."
Pentagon presses defense firms to speed up arms deliveries
