US President Donald Trump is set to meet with leaders of roughly seven major defense companies at the White House later this week to demand faster weapons production amid growing alarm over depleted American missile stockpiles, NBC News reported Wednesday.
Citing two people familiar with the plans, the report said that Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg is also expected to attend the meeting.
One source described the anticipated gathering as likely "going to be ugly," in part due to Trump's frustration over the state of US munitions reserves.
The stockpile has been drawn down steadily since the US began supplying Ukraine following Russia's 2022 war and has been further depleted by airstrikes on Iran last June and an ongoing military campaign against Tehran that began in late February, NBC News said.
To meet battlefield demand, the US has pulled weapons from European and Asian stockpiles, the network reported. Despite widespread concern, the Pentagon has yet to sign any new multiyear contracts to purchase additional munitions since Trump took office, according to officials and defense firm representatives cited by NBC News.
A study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies found the US is running critically low on key long-range precision weapons, estimating that roughly 1,000 or more Tomahawk cruise missiles have been expended since the Iran campaign began, with production of new ones potentially taking over three years even if contracts were signed today.
A White House spokesperson said the US military had sufficient munitions to meet all of Trump's strategic objectives.
