The Washington Post newspaper revealed an official memorandum sent by the US Department of Defense to military industrial companies, asking them to accelerate the pace of production and delivery of weapons and ammunition, in a step that reflects the amount of pressure facing Washington after the significant depletion of its military stockpiles during the war with Iran.
According to the memorandum, US Deputy Secretary of Defense Steve Feinberg gave companies a deadline not exceeding 21 days to submit plans that include accelerating delivery schedules and increasing the production of weapons and vital military capabilities, stressing that development cycles that extend for years are no longer acceptable at the current stage.
Feinberg identified a number of military programs that have the highest priority, most notably the new generation of interceptor missiles, noting that the ministry is making radical changes in the mechanisms of developing, producing, and deploying military capabilities, to confront current and future challenges.
The US Department of Defense is seeking to increase production through framework agreements with major companies, including Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, with the aim of enhancing the production of Patriot and THAAD missiles, while Lockheed Martin obtained a contract worth $58.6 billion, stipulating that the production of PAC-3 missiles should be tripled by 2030.
However, these plans face a major obstacle, which is the need to obtain Congressional approval for a defense spending project worth $1.15 trillion, in light of the continuing political disagreements over increasing spending.
The US Department of Defense confirmed that this step will contribute to preparing the budget for the fiscal year 2028, as part of a broader plan to rebuild the US defense industrial base and accelerate weapons production operations.
Earlier, the New York Times revealed that the United States depleted its stocks of air defense missiles and vital weapons in Europe and Asia during the war against Iran.
The newspaper quoted American officials as saying that the raids on Iran consumed thousands of expensive missiles, the manufacture of which depends on precise components imported from a global network of suppliers, while the production of some of them may take years.
It also explained that confronting Iranian attacks led to the depletion of the United States’ stock of air defense missiles, which raised concerns among senior officials in the administration of US President Donald Trump, and prompted Washington to postpone the delivery of military shipments to European and Asian countries.
The newspaper pointed out that the war prompted the US Department of Defense to redeploy ships, aircraft and air defense systems from Europe and Asia to the Middle East, which had wide repercussions on the readiness of US forces and the maintenance of their equipment.
It revealed that the Indo-Pacific Command has become one of the main sources of ammunition used in the war on Iran, at a time when officials have warned that American forces in South Korea have become more vulnerable to risks in the event of a military confrontation with North Korea.
According to an analysis issued by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the global stock of “Patriot” missiles declined from about 2,200 missiles before the war to less than 827 missiles, while the stock of “THAAD” missiles decreased from 452 missiles to less than 278.
