Senior Trump administration officials plan to meet Friday with executives from major U.S. defense contractors to discuss speeding up weapons production as the Pentagon moves to replenish stockpiles depleted by recent military operations.
Representatives from companies including Lockheed Martin (LMT) and RTX (RTX) are expected to attend the White House meeting, Reuters reported late Tuesday, citing people familiar with the plans.
The discussions come as U.S. weapons inventories have been strained by several conflicts in recent years. Since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and Israel’s war in Gaza, the United States has supplied billions of dollars in arms to allies, including artillery systems, ammunition and anti-tank missiles. Recent strikes on Iran have also drawn heavily on longer-range munitions.
Officials are expected to push contractors to accelerate manufacturing timelines. At the same time, the Pentagon is preparing a supplemental budget request of about $50 billion that could be released as soon as Friday to replenish weapons used in recent conflicts.
The urgency has grown after U.S. forces deployed systems such as Tomahawk cruise missiles, F-35 stealth fighters and attack drones during the Iran operation.
The administration has also increased pressure on contractors to prioritize production. An executive order signed earlier this year directs the Pentagon to identify companies that may be lagging on contracts while continuing to return capital to shareholders, potentially opening the door to enforcement actions if performance does not improve.