Pentagon urges US arms firms to accelerate weapons production for Iran conflict
The US Department of Defence has urged American arms companies to rapidly increase production and delivery of weapons due to severe equipment shortages following the war with Iran. The Washington Post published this news citing a memo from US Deputy Secretary of Defence Steve Feinberg. According to the memo, US defence industry executives were informed on Wednesday that they have a maximum of 21 days to submit plans to "significantly accelerate and make more aggressive the delivery timelines and increase production of critical capabilities." Feinberg wrote in the memo that multi-year development cycles are unacceptable and called on companies to "dramatically accelerate" their production schedules and industrial capacity. This request comes as reports have emerged regarding a decline in US interceptor missile stockpiles. US President Donald Trump on Thursday denied reports about his dissatisfaction with Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth over the depletion of interceptor missile reserves. According to the Times of Israel, the shortage of interceptor missiles was a primary concern discussed by Trump and his senior advisers before the administration decided to refrain from escalating the military campaign against Iran late last month.