No one is yet calling it a wartime production schedule, but the potential of a conflict with China is driving the federal government to increase its missile stockpile.
Defense contractors are being asked to double or quadruple production rates, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing sources it did not name.
The Pentagon is focused upon a Deadly Dozen weapons it would need in a war with China, including Patriot interceptors, Long Range Anti-Ship Missiles, the Standard Missile-6, Precision Strike Missiles, and Joint Air-Surface Standoff Missiles.
Given that some missiles can take up to two years to bring together from parts to product, the Trump administration’s efforts appear aimed at the potential for the strained relations between the United States and China to utterly fray.
Efforts began in June, when Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called defense contractors to the Pentagon to infuse suppliers with a sense of urgency. At that time, contractors were asked to increase their production rate 2.5 times over the next two years.
Since then, Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg is a driving force in the Munitions Acceleration Council, making weekly calls for progress reports.
“President Trump and Secretary Hegseth are exploring extraordinary avenues to expand our military might and accelerate the production of munitions,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said. “This effort has been a collaboration between defense industry leaders and senior Pentagon officials.”
The logistics of making complex weapons are an impediment to the kind of fast ramp-up America accomplished in World War II.
“Companies don’t build these things on spec,” Tom Karako, a munitions expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said. “You wait for the government to put them on contract. There needs to be an expression of support with money. It can’t just be words.”
Christopher Calio, the CEO of RTX, the parent company of defense contractor Raytheon, wrote to the Pentagon in July saying Raytheon needs cash and a commitment to ramp up production.
“Signaling the demand strength of these critical munitions to the supply base with Program of Record extensions… and funding to support is required,” he wrote.
Concerns about the military supply chain have been raised since 2023, when Biden-era Undersecretary of Defense Bill LaPlante said the sector was insufficiently responsive.
“The current conflict in Ukraine has been a wake-up call,” he said then. “We’ve allowed production lines to go cold, watched as parts became obsolete and seen sub-tier suppliers consolidate or go out of business entirely.”
The Army in September awarded Lockheed almost $10 billion to make some 2,000 PAC-3 missiles from fiscal year 2024 to 2026.
The Pentagon wants that same amount of Patriot missiles each year, representing a quadrupling of the current rate. Boeing has responded by upgrading facilities to make a part for the missiles called a seeker, the lack of which had been limiting production.
In August, the Pentagon made a record $3.5 billion purchase of missiles from Raytheon for AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles, which cost about $1 million each, according to The War Zone. The missiles are used by the U.S. and its allies. Attacks on Houthi drones and protecting Israel were factors in the depletion of existing stockpiles.
Earlier this month, the Pentagon responded to shortages by seeking to shift about $123 million into weapons programs to replace ordnance used to target Iran’s nuclear facilities, according to The War Zone.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.